You might belong to a party that believes in using violence to win elections but that will not stop you from tasting your own party’s medicine, Zanu PF’s Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Tracey Mutinhiri found out.
A state owned tabloid reported that Mutinhiri, the MP for Marondera East, was allegedly beaten up by her maid of eight years on Monday.
‘There was a brawl at her No. 33 Pendinis Road, Mt Pleasant home. She had discovered that the generator tank had no fuel upon her return from a business trip. She confronted her maid, Joyce Kamhasha, and the gardener, over the empty tank,’ the paper reported.
‘At the peak of the argument, the maid is alleged to have poked Mutinhiri in the face. But the maid claimed they exchanged punches after her boss ordered them to contribute money to buy the diesel for the tank. “She wanted us to contribute US$10 each to buy the fuel,” she told the paper.
“I then told her I didn’t have any money. She started insulting me. She was annoyed by my response. She hurled insults at me. She ended up beating me. She also accused me of being a bad influence to her daughters.” Mutinhiri refuted the accusations. She claimed it was Kambasha who poked her in the face, leaving her with a mark on her forehead.
“I did not beat her,” said Mutinhiri. “She is the one who beat me. Under the labour laws, that’s a cause for summary dismissal. I have been staying with her for nearly eight years. She has had her two kids while working for me. I looked after them without any problem.
“She has been abusive all along. I would forgive her, believing that it was a process yekukura (growing up) and also something to do with her background. “I was once a diplomat based in Yugoslavia and when I came back she stole most of my property. But in the end I forgave her. I’m a mother of three and I have a granddaughter.
“Being a caring mother, I thought I could mould her into a proper woman. I would even pay her way beyond what most employers do. To her, it did not mean anything. “On that Monday, we had a misunderstanding over a petty issue. It was about diesel and she ended up being abusive. “I was talking to her as a mother and she started verbally and physically abusing me, as she talked at the top of her voice.
“This was done in full view of my daughters. It appears as if she wanted to poke me in my eyes as she ended up scratching my forehead.” Mutinhiri said she had lodged a report with the police. “The matter is being handled by the police,” she said. But Kambasha insists that Mutinhiri bashed her and then fired her.
“She owes me money in unpaid wages,” she said. “She was supposed to pay me US$150 in total after she failed to pay me US$50 for my leave days. So she took the opportunity and dismissed me from work.” But Mutinhiri said she believed Kambasha was being used by people who did not care about her welfare.
“I feel sorry for her. She’s just seeking attention, yet she has done me wrong. If what she is alleging is true then why is she not taking the matter up with the Labour Court?
“She approached some bogus labour organisations in a bid to recover her money, although she had initially refused to accept it prior to this incident. What she is doing is a way of trying to counter me after she realised that she had left her job is an improper manner. “She also realised that she blew up a good opportunity as I regarded her as one of my daughters.”