Matobo violence: The details
• CCC alleges violence to save face after rally flop
Brian Rungano Temba
Social media has been flooded by allegations from CCC activists claiming to have been assaulted by ZANU PF youths in Matobo.
The posts started making rounds on digital spaces on Monday morning, brandishing elderly women walking topless and cars which were ‘stoned’.
All these were shared in a desperate bid to protect the ruling ZANU PF as a violent party.
Investigations by Tateguru Tv have however shown that despite making frantic noise, CCC was in fact behind the shameful orgy of violence which was witnessed.
Matobo is expecting to hold a Council By-Election and campaigns are already underway.
ZANU PF National Youth Affairs Deputy Secretary Cde John Paradza was a guest of honour at two events that the ruling party had organised.
The first event was a sports event where the Youth League funded soccer and netball tournaments.
Over 1 200 youths had assembled for the event and arrival of Cde Paradza which was scheduled for midday on the day.
Cde Paradza was also expected to make a keynote speech at a village meeting that was held at Sigaba Village where 250 members were in attendance at 3.00 pm.
At that venue were DCC executives and local villagers.
Before the arrival of the guest of honour, spectators gathered at the sports tournament venue at Tudi 2 Junction grounds spotted cars which were moving around suspiciously around the area with CCC regalia.
Three hours later the same cars came again playing CCC music and chanting slogans right across the road from the venue provoking the hosts.
The Youths reported this to the Matebeleland South Youth Chairman Cde Moses Langa who pursued the suspected car to the shopping centre near Tudi Junction.
They then gathered information that the car belonged to CCC supporters who were also holding their rally on that same date but had come to see where all the people had gone since the turnout at their rallies was very dismal.
They return to the venue after seeing the car they had followed turn into the building they described as the CCC command centre.
Upon Cde Paradza’s arrival in the area, they went directly to the second meeting point in Sigaba Village since the Guest of Honour had come in late.
They hoped he would find them still at the venue so he could appreciate the ground response.
Cde Langa who went to welcome Cde Paradza’s entourage and escorted them to the meeting point, says they had just passed the turn-off to Sigaba Village when they found the CCC mob from the prior incident encamped by the roadside.
“When the first two cars in the motorcade appeared they jumped into the bushes leaving only two people. A few words were exchanged at the spot and one of the two CCC activists reached for a stone, which was a signal to stone the motorcade.
The ambush startled the drivers who drove off the guest of honour (Cde Paradza) to safety,” said Cde Langa.
The barrage of stones hurled at the motorcade damaged two of the cars including the one with Guest of Honour, Cde Paradza.
The escort team got the guests to their destination and then went back to investigate who had attacked them.
Upon reaching the shopping centre they interrogated two elderly men who manned the said CCC command centre, one 74 and the other 75 years of age.
They disclosed who had attacked the motorcade and that they had been singing and chanting slogans in their yellow regalia before taking off to ambush the ZANU-PF Campaigning team.
After gathering information, they then rushed to the Tudi Junction route where they made a temporary roadblock, trying to stop the CCC assailants from escaping, as they waited for a police response.
This is where the video that is circulating on social media was taken, however, the facts behind the audio in it were misleading.
No live ammunition was shot at any of the CCC cars and the two elderly women who were posing for pictures topless were not undressed by ZANU-PF members.
“These are mere antics now being used to play the victim immediately after endangering the lives of our guests who did not quarrel with them,” said Cde Langa.
ZANUPF Matabeleland South Youth Spokesperson Cde Thokoza Hlongwani want to tell Tateguru TV that the ongoing campaigns will not be stopped on account of these falsehoods.
“Since independence, we have never lost this seat to Opposition.
So far the Campaign is going on so well and the people have declared their support for our Candidates for Matobo Ward 2 Cde Frederick Siwela and Insiza Ward 4 Cde Daniel Dube.
The altercation is purely a case of jealousy and sabotage, the CCC is finding empty homes in their door-to-door campaign because all the locals are busy volunteering at the projects that ZANU-PF has brought to the community for development,” said Cde Hlongwani.
He said that in the previous weekend ZANU-PF held a meeting that had over 750 attendants while CCC had roughly 200.
“We have long since stopped campaigning with the ‘We shall do this’ rhetoric and have taken a hands-on approach, taking a page from the work of His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa of walking the talk.
Currently, we have many projects that are running as our campaign projects. We are building a Clinic, we have repaired school roofing, dug and repaired boreholes and done road rehabilitation.
And the secret has always been to incorporate the public in their projects. That’s why the CCC can’t find people at homes during their Door to door campaigns,” he added.
“We have been receiving grievances from the Electorate and have done our best to address them as a Party utilising the Government availed resources. Using Devolution funds we repaired the roofs that were blown away in the previous storms at Sikamanzwe School in March this year. Using the Community Development Fund we took heed of the Ward plan made by the people of Matobo to have our clinic. As of now, we have completed the foundation.
Matobo has faced severe drought and water shortages and we have made efforts to remedy the situation to our ability. We have engaged Government and NGOs for food relief. The area is generally a mining area and conflict over claims and mining rights challenges were rampant. We managed to iron the issues out and the miners have pledged to buy fuel and drill the boreholes for the community,” said Cde Hlongwani.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been unreachable for a comment on the scuffle but has posted a statement on their social media pages saying;
“ZRP is seized with reports of violent skirmishes which occurred in Matobo on October 16, 2022. Reports of assault and violence have been received from both ZANU-PF AND CCC.
Investigations are now in progress to account for all suspects involved in the violence. The Police urge political parties and supporters to be responsible and shun all forms of violence.”
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