Colleen Chitsa

Masvingo High Court judge Justice Neville Wamambo yesterday, January 05,
2021, granted bail pending appeal to Amalgamated Rural Teacher Union Zimbabwe
(Artuz) Masvingo provincial secretary for gender, Shilla Chisirimunhu who had
spent a few weeks in prison.

Justice Wamambo ordered Chisirimunhu to pay bail amounting to RTGS$2 000
and to report at Chesvingo Police Station in Masvingo once every last Friday of
the month.

He ordered Chisirimunhu to continue residing at her given residential
address until the finalisation of her appeal lodged at Masvingo High Court
against both conviction and sentence.

On December 18, 2020, Chisirimunhu was sentenced to 16 months in prison
by the Masvingo Magistrate Mbonisi Ndlovu who had convicted her on allegations
of inciting public violence.

She had been arrested in June 22, 2020, after
she allegedly staged a demonstration at the Masvingo district education offices
in Mucheke.

There was a public outcry against both conviction and
sentence, which the public felt were unjust and disproportionate respectively.

Represented by Martin Mureri of Matutu and Mureri Legal
Practitioners who took instructions from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
Chisirimunhu took her matter up to the High Court which finally granted her
bail.

In an interview with TellZim, Mureri said he was
pleased that his client had finally got bail which she justly deserved.

“We are pleased by the decision of the High Court which
accepted the merits of our presentation of this case. We are now working hard
to ensure that she gets her freedom back unconditionally,” said Mureri.

The State’s Unice Shoko claimed that Chisirimunhu
participated in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, in breach of
peace or bigotry as defined in Section 37(i) (a) (i) of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

 The 53-year-old widow and rural school teacher
alternatively faced a charge of contravening Section 4(a) (i) of Statutory
Instrument 83/20 as read with Section 3(a) of Statutory Instrument 110/20 which
prohibits ‘unnecessary movement during the national lockdown’.

 The State further alleged that Chisirimunhu,
in the company of 50 other colleagues, some of whom were arrested but later acquitted,
went to the education offices chanting songs that denounced the local currency
while raising placards.

Chisirimunhu denied the charges, arguing that
she was not part of the said group and that she was arrested one kilometre away
from the venue of the purported gathering.

The new DCC were first endorsed by Matuke during a PPC at Chivi growth point

…Matuke defends Chadzamira, warns
‘detractors’

…Makwarimba faction faces
expulsion ‘for bringing name of party into disrepute’

Moses Ziyambi

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has
endorsed the new Masvingo District Coordination Committee (DCC) leadership that
was elected under controversial circumstances on December 05-06, 2020.

During his visit to Chombwe water
scheme in Chivi North on December 23, Mnangagwa was introduced to the new
district chairpersons by Zanu PF national political commissar Victor Matemadanda.

Mnangagwa then took time to greet
the new leadership and congratulate everybody who was elected before urging all
party members to work together and rally behind the winners.

Matemadanda then took a swipe at
disgruntled party members who feel that the elections were rigged in favour of
a faction aligned to the party’s provincial chairperson Ezra Chadzamira, and
have been circulating videos on social media with damaging allegations of vote
fraud.

Of particular interest is a
Masvingo district-based faction alleged to be led by Clemence Makwarimba and
his son Phainos who want the district election results annulled on the basis of
rigging.

The Makwarimba faction is also
said to be vehemently opposed to Chadzamira leadership and they cannot wait to
see his back.

Before the Chombwe endorsement,
the new leadership had got the support of senior party member Lovemore Matuke,
who is secretary for security in the politburo.

Addressing a Provincial
Coordination Committee (PCC) meeting at Chivi growth point on December 19,
Matuke, who is secretary for security in the politburo, railed against what he called
concerted efforts to attack the provincial party leadership.

Matuke was sandwiched by
secretary for legal affairs in the politburo Paul Mangwana, Chadzamira, deputy chairperson
Robson Mavhenyengwa and many other party officials.

“Do not take our quietness for
foolishness. We are not foolish; we would not have reached where we are if we
were foolish. There are some of you who are going against our chairman and we
are watching you. You might think that you are going against the chairman alone
but no, you are also going against the rest of us,” said Matuke.

He warned that nobody will remove
Chadzamira from his position except the generality of the party membership at
the right time.

“It’s not Masvingo district alone
which elected our chairman. We cannot have him removed today by your district;
it’s all of us who will remove him altogether,” said Matuke.

Other sources in the party said
people aligned to the Makwarimba faction was now under pressure and many of
them could be expelled this year ‘for using social media to bring the
name of the party into disrepute’.