A FORMER independent councillor from Insiza district in Matabeleland South province has been accused of forcing villagers to join the ruling Zanu PF party or face eviction.
Sikhanyisiwe Nkomo of ward 23, Shangani, who recently
defected to Zanu PF, now wants villagers in her ward to follow her.
Opposition Zapu Matabeleland South provincial secretary for
administration Ernest Ndlovu told NewsDay yesterday that villagers were given
until last week to join Zanu PF.
“Nkomo made an announcement that she had defected to Zanu
PF and threatened villagers with eviction or loss of their properties that
include plots, residential and commercial stands,” Ndlovu said.
“She told them that the properties belonged to the ruling
party,’’ he added. Ndlovu said villagers were living in fear of losing their
properties, adding that they voted for her thinking that she was a “new
creature” after defecting from Zanu PF, but they were surprised that she had
gone back to her roots.
“As villagers, we will write to Insiza Rural District
Council and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) notifying them about the issue
and ask them to declare the ward vacant,” Ndlovu said.
Although Nkomo confirmed that she had found refuge in Zanu
PF, she denied allegations that she was coercing her supporters to join the
ruling party.
“Why should I do that? After all, I am an elder in my
church. I stood as an independent councillor after I was frustrated by the
ruling party and people voted for me, but I immediately went back to Zanu PF
soon after the elections in 2018 since I was always Zanu PF fulltime. This
follows a letter that I wrote to Zec,’’ Nkomo said.
She said she contested the July 2018 elections as an
independent after realising that the MDC Alliance stood better chances of
winning against Zanu PF. Newsday
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