…as delimitation costs sitting councillors
Cephas Shava
Mwenezi-Mwenezi Rural District Council Chairperson Jorum Ncube who after being councillor for 20 years, suffered a humiliating defeat in the recently held Zanu Pf primary elections.
Ncube, who first became councillor in 2000 only took a break for a single term and had been Mwenezi RDC chairperson twice, serving for two terms in that capacity.
Ncube, one of the local authority’s longest serving councillors, whose ward 6 was merged with ward 4 to make a combined ward 4 following the recent delimitation got 640 votes while his rival, incumbent ward 4 councillor Passmore Madzudzu garnered 1238 votes.
Altered ward 1 saw the defeat of incumbent Collen Musariwa to Neshuro-based businessman Maxwell Muzvidziwa.
The merging of ward 2 and ward 3 to make ward 3 saw the defeat of incumbent ward 2 councillor Zephania Zhou by current ward 3 councillor Samuel Mabhena.
Ward 18 which houses the populous Rutenga growth point and is the only ward in the entire district which is under an opposition councillor will see Zanu Pf being represented by Tawanda Muza after he defeated his rivals.
In ward 7 and 14 Killion Murabharari and Admire Matutu respectively returned the right to represent their party in the coming harmonized elections.
Former Mwenezi East’s long time losing parliamentarian aspirant, Marvelous Chifumuro won the right to represent Zanu Pf as councillor in the newly gazetted ward 6.
Other Zanu PF councillors who have lost tickets for re-election include ward 13’s Takura Mudavose, Gilbert Gondo of ward 9, ward 5’s Tinashe Yingi, ward 15’s Samuel Kwinika, ward 17’s Simon Chabata and ward 11’s Gorden Magogo.
