Francis Moyo
Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI – Disillusioned by his loss in the chaotic Zanu PF primary election for Chiredzi West, Francis Moyo has declared he will contest in the general elections as an independent candidate.
Alongside other candidates, the Chiredzi Town Council chairperson was defeated by Farai Musikavanhu but he feels the process was not credible.
His pronouncements to go it alone have set him on a collision course with the ruling party which has made it clear that those who contest as an independents would have automatically expelled themselves from the party.
Moyo, however, said he will be representing the true Zanu PF members who were denied the right to vote for their favourite candidate.
“I am going to stand as an independent in the general elections as I am answering various Zanu PF members’ calls to represent them in parliament. Real Zanu PF members were denied their right to vote while many MDC members found their way into our porous cells. That has encouraged me to stand as an independent candidate ahead of the general election,” said Moyo.
Together with incumbent MP Darlington Chiwa, Norman Sharara and 10 other aspiring Zanu PF councillors, Moyo wrote to the Zanu PF commissariat complaining about gross irregularities in the primaries but nothing materialised.
Chiwa too attacked the commissariat, which is led by Rtd Lt Gen Engelbert Rugeje, for what he implied to be total its failure to successfully execute party programmes.
“We have a problem with our commissariat department. We never ran a successful programme with our new commissariat department ranging from cell creation, verification and even elections,” said Chiwa, who himself failed to cast his own ballot as his name had disappeared from the Ward 18 cell register.
Musikavanhu obtained 3 427 votes, Chiwa came second with 1160 while Moyo came third with 56.politics
