TellZim reporter
There was drama at Chitima flea market on October 31, 2022 as traders clashed with the committee overseeing the trading place with the former accusing the latter of misappropriating funeral bereavement proceeds amounting to US$ 162.
The traders accused the committee chairperson Godfree Mudhumo of deliberately delaying with more than three weeks to disburse funds raised following the death of Panashe Tavengwa whose husband MaxWilliam Chizheve is a trader at the place.
However, Mudhumo refuted the claims which he rubbished as part of cheap politicking against his leadership at the flea markets and said the necessary channel was followed though he was surprised to note that the beneficiaries were declining the bereavement fund after burying their loved one.
“As part of our work, we have policies that we follow if one of our members is affected by an eventuality like death in this case. It only happened that by the time our executive finished collecting the funds, the bereaved family had already gone to the deceased’s resting place and we could not give them the contributed money in time.
“However, all those accusations are part of politics against the executive I lead from some traders with hidden agendas. I am a regular traveller who is always away from the flea market but I had to leave the contributed money with my deputy so that when they come back, they can get it.
“To my surprise I was told that the beneficiaries had rejected the funds asking why they were delayed and only released after the funeral. We then made the necessary communication to address the issue but that is when people gathered. I feel there was nothing amiss on the manner we handled the funds,” said Mudhumo.
Obey Marashwa who is a brother-in-law to Chizheve had a different version of the story as he accused the management of deliberately delaying the disbursement saying it was a plot to frustrate the bereaved and diverting the funds to personal use.
“As the bereaved family, we were surprised that the money collected on October 3 had to be surrendered on October 31 after traders had gathered at a meeting organized by one of the losing candidates in the elections that ushered in Majoni-led executive.
“We felt the executive was trying to frustrate the bereaved family by employing delaying tactics so that the case would die a silent death and the funds diverted elsewhere. The family instructed me to collect the money, but the executive declined insisting Chizheve should collect on his own leading to the flash demonstration by traders who demanded their money back,” said Marashwa.
He also alleged that the executive demanded contributions from traders purportedly to buy sanitizers during the peak of Covid-19 era but they never bought anything since traders were restricted from trading.
Tavengwa is reported to have been buried at their rural home in Bikita.
