By Robbie Ncube
Details have emerged of how the “bribed” Tsholotsho Senator Alice Dube and legislator Zenzo Sibanda (Tsholotsho South) smuggled the land baron and business man Owen Sibanda into district structures.
Alice Dube
Owen Sibanda who recently described local leadership as “FOOLISH” has been at loggerheads with Tsholotsho’s traditional leadership and villagers after Zanu PF recently accepted his CV having expressed interest in becoming the Chairperson of the District Coordinators Committee (DCC).
On orders of Senator Dube and MP Sibanda the current party District Executive was back dated to 2013 to smuggle Sibanda while FACTS show that the district restructuring was done in 2015. The move aimed at back-dating the structures was done to accommodate Owen Sibanda as a contestant. The backdated list now show that Owen was a member then.
The move was also aimed to bypass the rule that Owen Sibanda does not qualify to stand as the Chairperson of the District Coordinators Committee (DCC) as he is less than five years old in the party. Sibanda who has been resident in South Africa only relocated to Zimbabwe in 2017 after being invited to the country by then divisive G40 King-maker Prof Jonathan Moyo.
“I was disappointed that other leaders failed to comment during the PCC which was conducted by Cde David Parirenyatwa when he came to Tsholotsho. Everyone was silent because they feared to be victimised by Owen and his vicious runners who are very disrespectful to the traditional leadership and party leadership,” said a senior Zanu PF stationed at Tsholotsho offices.
“We are calling upon Cde President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, SG Cde Obert Mpofu and NPC Cde Victor Matematanda to come to our rescue as Tsholotsho people. We have had enough of getting imposed leadership on us. We will not accept to have Own imposed on our people. We appeal to you as our seniors to come and stop this madness.”
Yesterday Chiefs from across Tsholotsho North and South were quoted in the media complaining about Sibanda who was recently spotted handing over money and food across wards 20, 5, 1, 14, 8, 3 and 9.
Surprisingly, Zanu PF has not yet opened the floor for people to start campaigning.
Previous media reports alleged that Sibanda bribed the local Senator Dube who is originally from Nkayi and Tsholotsho South MP Sibanda who is originally from Mashonaland Central to help him have his CV sail through- a move that has left the community angry at the ruling party Zanu PF for accepting the CV of a “land baron”.
The fight between Sibanda, local traditional leadership and villagers began when Sibanda who had returned from South Africa grabbed land in Godzo village and council land in Tsholotsho Business Centre.
The villagers argue that Sibanda does not have the interests of the locals and Zanu PF at heart.
Upon from returning from South Africa, Sibanda was connived and unlawful allocated land to himself assisted by his close ally – a former ward 13 MDC T Councillor Clemence Ndlovu.
Recently Chief Conrad Magama said: “It is sad that Zanu PF recently accepted a CV of a land baron Sibanda who allocated himself land meant for communal occupation under my jurisdiction without the approval of local leadership in our ward 13.
“I recently met with all my village headmen and all local leadership; we agreed that we will never accept a land baron to politically preside over our jurisdiction. Our people have suffered a lot because of Mr Sibanda. Our people spent time in prison because of Mr Sibanda who has friends in the police that survive through his bribes.
“We have also engaged all Chiefs and traditional leaders across the entire Tsholotsho district about the matter and we all agree that we will never allow anyone who uses his money to bribe and steal our ancestral land,” he said.
A Chief from Tsholotsho North who refused to be named said we are seeking urgent help from the president HE Emmerson Mnangagwa regarding the issue of this man Sibanda who has started visiting our jurisdiction seeking our people’s support yet undermining our fellow Chiefs and traditional leadership in South.
“It is sad that we are seeing Sibanda running across our villages without our clearances. He is handing over food and money to our people and we don’t know why he is doing so. I am appealing to President Mnangagwa to intervene urgently. We were told that his boys who are running around with him were insulting Chief Magama and his village heads recently on social media. So now we are shocked on what he wants in our jurisdiction,” he said.
Working with former MDC ward 13, in 2018, Sibanda forcefully occupied and fenced about 30 hectares of land in Godzo Line of Ward 13 resulting in tension with the local Chief Conrad Magama.
When Sibanda who occupied and put a fence around 30 hectares of land in Godzo line both the Chief and the villagers were very angry as he did not have any legal documents permitting him to do that. This irritated the community, prompting them to burn and destroy the property.
Following this incident about 126 members were arrested until the Minister of Local Governance intervened. The matter was taken to the courts (case no HC3148/18/2018) and the ruling was in favour of the villagers.
Sibanda was served with an eviction notice in March 2019, but he disregarded the ruling and continued to occupy the land.
Zanu PF spokesperson, Patrick Chinamasa recently said that the party is seeking good leadership for people across the country.
Efforts to get comments from both Senator Dube and MP Sibanda were fruitless as their phones rang unanswered.
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