Eric Knight vows to deal with Chipangano

By Never Kadungure | Harare Bureau |

HARARE – Zimbabwe radio legend Eric Knight has vowed to deal with the violent Chipangano militia who have virtually turned the poor suburb of Mbare into a war zone. Knight is eyeing a parliamentary seat for the MDC-T in the area.

Knight said “Chipangano’s days in Mbare are numbered because the people in the constituency are fed up.  We want to put an end to the terror that has characterised the period before and after elections in the constituency and we are driven by the realisation that the people involved are not from here.”

The radio and television legend who spent nearly a decade in exile believes he can engage the community and create neighbourhood watch teams in conjunction with the police to nip violence in the bud. He said they are working closely with the community including those that do business in the market.

“The people here have seen enough violence and we have made a covenant with them to ensure there is no repeat of the 2008 election violence and to ensure people go about their business freely at the various markets and bus termini.”

“As a party we are alive to the fact that our police tends to be partisan when dealing with political issues but remember not all of them are. Most of them sympathise with our cause and they have promised to help us,” he said.

Last week a group of Zanu PF thugs believed to be from the Chipangano gang on Thursday night assaulted a Mbare family for hosting Knight. Sunny Zvenyika Chibanda and his wife who stay at the Shawasha Flats in Mbare hosted Knight at their home and this did not go down well with the hooligans.

The perpetrators have since been identified as Gift Riot, Kudakwashe Ngomera, Tatenda Ngomera, Everson Ngomera, Chamu Makova, Martin Muunze, Danmore Njitima, Kekenani Bhasikolo, Talkmore Mafurirano, Hebert Nzira and another hooligan identified only as Mbada.

Meanwhile in the MDC-T primary elections Knight is expected to contest against former Mbare legislator Tichaona Munyanyi, ward 4 councillor Friday Muleya, and Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) activist Sten Zvorwadza. The primaries will have to be held before general elections in July.