Chief Mtshane Khumalo from Matabeleland North has been elected the new president of the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs unopposed, taking over from Chief Fortune Charumbira who is now a deputy.
On Thursday, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) presided over the traditional leaders’ elections in Harare, a week after they selected their representatives in the Senate.
Chief Khumalo, who is the incumbent deputy president of the council was elected as the new Chief’s Council president with Chief Charumbira deputising him.
The election of Chiefs Khumalo and Charumbira means that they have an automatic election into the Senate.
The election of the two office bearers concludes the National Council of Chiefs polls which started on the 3rd of this month when elections were held in the eight non-metropolitan provinces to choose the 36 members of the chiefs’ council.
In April, Chief Charumbira who is also a Pan African Parliament chair, was accused of indecent assault, after he allegedly made some unwelcome sexual advances towards his 27-year-old niece who is a Zimuto High School teacher, who could not be named on ethical grounds.
Chief Charumbira is known for stubbornly breaking the Constitution of Zimbabwe by declaring his allegiance to Zanu-PF.
In 2021, he told a Zanu-PF conference that chiefs were the owners of the ruling party.
“On behalf of all chiefs and headmen, I want to say, we are together with Zanu PF,” Charumbira said.
“We got invited through a letter and that letter showed who we are. We were invited as delegates, but if you go to the start, we are the owners of Zanu PF.”
Legal experts argued that Chief Charumbira’s sentiments breached Chapter 15.2 of the Constitution which forbids traditional leaders from being members of any political party or in any way participate in partisan politics, act in a partisan manner, further the interests of any political party or cause or violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of any person.
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