MDC activists asked to return inputs

By Bernard Chiketo

Zanu PF’s politicisation of farming inputs has hit a new low as the party is now demanding that opposition supporters who benefited from the Presidential Inputs Scheme return them.

MDC activists from Chipatarongo Village in Nyanga North Ward 6 were ordered to return the inputs at a meeting that was addressed by the ruling party’s ward chairperson Kenneth Baruku and councillor Didymus Nyamahumba on September 21.

Efforts to reach the two were fruitless at the time of going to print as their phones were not being picked up.

Zanu PF Manicaland secretary for administration Kenneth Saruchera said they would look into the allegations which he said do not represent either the party’s position or that of the president whom he said is against partisan distribution of inputs and drought relief assistance.

“Firstly, we have not received any such report but generally it’s not party policy and even the president maintains that the inputs and drought relief should benefit all Zimbabweans without discrimination.

“If they did that it was in direct violation of party policy. We want to find out what happened and if you have the names of those who are said to have done that please share with us so that we look into it,” Saruchera said.

Zimbabwe Political Victims Foundation Trust chairperson Sekai Gombe said they were concerned with the allegations which fly in the face of public pronouncements by the ruling party’s leadership.

“We are concerned about these allegations and we are looking into them.

“This is something that no one foresaw and something that should not be permitted,” Gombe said.

Nyanga North has been a hotbed of Zanu PF activists’ mischief during the run-up to the July 30 harmonised elections with a number of cases of political violence, intimidation of opposition supporters by traditional leaders and partisan food distribution.

Paradzai Samachena and Virginia Takurira Tsoka were attacked in separate incidents for wearing MDC T-shirts.

Samachena from Kanyani Village in Nyanga North was on June 16 hit by a catapult on the eye by Shingirai Tembo a Zanu PF activist in ward 5 for wearing the opposition’s T-shirt.

The case was reported to Ruwangwe Police Station and a docket was opened with an RRB reference of 2372874.

He was attended by a doctor at Counselling Services Unit (CSU) in Harare.

Tsoka, a female MDC supporter from Vhurandi Village again in ward 5, was attacked with a log by Tinotenda Mutsamwira a Zanu PF activist on July 16 again over a T-shirt.

The run-up to the election is however, widely considered by political analysts to have been one of the most peaceful in the country since the 1960s. DailyNews