Tsvangirai MDC wins Mutare office property

By Clayton Masekesa

MUTARE – The Morgan Tsvangirai led faction here has won a property ownership tussle today after the acquittal of its members in a case of unlawful entry and malicious damage to property reported by the Tendai Biti-led rebel group.

The Biti led group known as the MDC Team Renewal reported a theft case to police in what was seemed to be a bid to incapacitate the MDC-T faction in the province.

Former Mutasa South Member of Parliament and Mutare Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza and two other youths, Knowledge Nyamhoka and Allen Mukodzani were arrested last month facing theft charges.

Brian James, aligned to Biti camp is the one who made a police report and pressed the charges.

It was alleged that on 28th April at about 1800hrs at the MDC-T offices at 26B Carrington Drive, Darlington, the three, Kagurabadza, Nyamhoka and Mukodzani acting on connivance broke into the party offices by breaking the locker secured by a locked key with an iron hoe to gain entry into the office.

The state said while the three were inside they stole a Dell Computer Monitor, one Dell computer Central Processing Unit (CPU), one Techcom Computer CPU, one Omega fan, one photocopier, to computer keyboards and various accessories and packed the items in Kagurabadza’s vehicle a Mazda T50 twincab.

The accused persons got information that police were looking for them and they handed themselves to the Mutare Central Police station leading to their arrest.

Mutare magistrate Sekesai Chiwundara ruled that the three were safeguarding party property as they had acted in accordance with a legitimate directive from the party leadership.

Acting Secretary-General for MDC-T, Tapiwa Mashakada, said the directive was for them to secure all party property.

“The rebels are on a concerted effort to destabilize the party by grabbing all party assets across the provinces. The rebels have been moving around the provinces lying that all party property belongs to them. The judgment in the Manicaland case deserves celebration because those who acted to protect party property were acquitted,” said Mashakada.

The vehicle and the rest of the property which had been confiscated by the police upon the arrest of the MDC-T officials have since been handed over back to party. The Zimbabwean