By Cephas Shava
Mwenezi – Former Mwenezi District Organizer for then Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) then led by Nelson Chamisa, Tinei Mapepa has been summoned to Masvingo Magistrate Courts over the Rutenga political violence that occurred last year in the run-up to the harmonized elections.
The violence saw Chamisa’s supporters clashing with the police who resorted to throwing teargas canisters to disperse CCC supporters who were waiting for their leader’s arrival on July 23, 2023.
According to the summons seen by TellZim News, Mapepa who was then convener of the Rutenga CCC rally was required to appear at the Masvingo Magistrates Court on April 22 to answer to allegations of incitement.
“You are required to summon Tinei Mapepa of No. 67 Muzhanje Ranch, Mwenezi cell to appear personally before this court at Masvingo Magistrates court on the 22nd day of April 2024 at 0800hrs to answer to allegations raised on the charge of Incitement as defined in the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act CH9.23,” reads the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) summons.
In an interview, Mapepa who now supports the Blue Movement allegedly led by Chamisa said he did not commit any offence but the motive behind the allegations was to instill fear in those who live in rural communities who challenge Zanu PF.
“As President Chamisa’s supporters, we committed no offense on the day in question and everything we did was within the confines of the law. The whole idea behind these arrests is to instil fear and silence those who do not hesitate to point out Zanu PF’s failure in remote areas like ours,” said Mapepa.
Following Chamisa’s delay in arriving at the Rutenga Growth Point Rally venue, police officers ordered CCC supporters to disperse, but the crowd was defiant, vowing to wait until their leader arrived.
This ignited running battles between riot police and CCC supporters as police threw teargas and fired several warning shots in the air to scare off supporters resulting in some picking stones retaliating to the officers.
Chamisa later passed through the growth point around dusk to find his defiant supporters patiently waiting for him despite being earlier on teargased.
He only made a brief stop, waving to ululating supporters before proceeding to Ngundu Growth Point where more teargas canisters were thrown at CCC supporters who braved it to have a glimpse of their party leader.
