Sources in the ruling party yesterday said the party’s
national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, who is also Defence minister,
was tasked with looking into the matter, following recommendations made by the
Zanu PF Gokwe North district co-ordinating committee (DCC) that she should be
demoted from party positions and be recalled from Parliament.
In February, the Midlands senator unwittingly exposed human
rights violations by the military in social media posts.
She also suggested that she would engage President Emmerson
Mnangagwa, Muchinguri-Kashiri and senior party officials to stop the harassment
in the Midlands district. Mbohwa alleged
that soldiers were beating up people indiscriminately, including the elderly in
the district.
Midlands provincial chairperson Daniel Mackenzie Ncube
yesterday confirmed to NewsDay that the province had received the
recommendations from Gokwe North district.
Ncube said the matter had been forwarded to the national
leadership since the province had no say over a women’s league senior member
and senator.
“We got a report from Gokwe stating that the senator said
something to that effect and the district was denying that the things happened.
They want senator Mbohwa to be censured. We referred the matter to the national
body because Mbohwa is above the province and so we referred the matter to Cde
Muchinguri and that is where it is,” Ncube said.
Mbohwa confirmed a plot for her ouster by some party
members. “If the matter is yet to be tabled and the province hasn’t said
anything we will assume all is okay. We are so busy mobilising the five million
votes for the President ahead of 2023,” Mbohwa said.
Gokwe North district agreed during its inaugural meeting
recently to have Mbohwa censured and stripped of her powers so that she becomes
an ordinary member and be recalled from Parliament.
The DCC chaired by Gokwe-Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor
Wadyajena adjudged that Mbohwa had a sinister agenda after circulating an audio
recording alleging army brutality.
Wadyajena described them as “baseless” allegations designed
to ensure that the West imposes sanctions on security chiefs.
Four security chiefs including State Security minister Owen
Ncube, intelligence boss Isaac Moyo, Zimbabwean ambassador to Tanzania Anselem
Sanyatwe and police commissioner general Godwin Matanga were placed on the
United Kingdom sanctions list in February for alleged human rights abuses.
Mbohwa, the DCC said, exposed the country to its enemies by
propagating “lies” regarding the military attacks on civilians.
The army has in many cases been accused of attacking
citizens, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown period, but the government
has denied the claims.
“I take great exception to this sinister plot by Mbohwa to
ruin the image of the government and His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa as
commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces,” Wadyajena told NewsDay
yesterday.
“Her actions are intended to harm the image of the country
and our President in line with the impending sanctions review by the United
States, the European Union and also as a justification for the recent United
Kingdom embargo on some security service chiefs on the basis of human rights
violations.” Newsday
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