Gumede had his home destroyed by suspected Zanu PF members
last Monday and went on to lose the by-election held on Saturday.
The assailants destroyed window panes at Gumede’s
homestead, windscreens of his two vehicles, asbestos, solar panel, and other
household properties.
Gumede, however, escaped before they could get to him and
went into hiding but resurfaced on election day.
Gumede went on to lose to ZANU-PF’s Daniel Dube, who polled
578 votes against his 415, according to results released by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC).
CITE caught up with Gumede Saturday, who was the first
person to cast his vote at Mleja Primary School Polling Station, Insiza South.
“I want to set a good example for my followers to follow
and appreciate the fact that voting has to be done in the morning,” he told
CITE.
“Yes indeed there was political violence and I don’t know
how I survived. I was helped by people who were around who managed to block the
attackers, allowing me to escape, otherwise, I would have been killed.”
Gumede further explained: “My homestead is now ruined
because they literally destroyed everything. I escaped and hid in the bush.
This is what I have been doing: I have been coming home to check the situation,
cook, eat and then return to the bush. I would sit on top of a hill so as to
closely monitor what is happening around my homestead.”
He said there was no way the by-election could have been
free and fair citing voter intimidation.
“ZANU-PF needs to be retired,” he added.
“It is an old political party. They should just retire and
give the younger generation a chance to lead.” CITE
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