Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial youth chairperson Butholezwe Gatsi has been fired for allegedly leaking details of a recent extraordinary national youth executive meeting to some politburo members.
Thabo Thwala, Gatsi’s deputy, was immediately appointed acting provincial youth chairperson. The leadership of the youth league described Gatsi’s behaviour as akin to “espionage”.
Leaders of the national executive of the youth league descended on Bulawayo on Saturday to announce the decision, but found the provincial party offices at Davies Hall closed and had to meet the Bulawayo provincial youth committee in the open.
Gatsi, who yesterday described his dismissal as “illegal,” is alleged to have orchestrated the move to block Saturday’s meeting.
The group from the national executive comprised Edson Chakanyuka, the deputy secretary for youth affairs Mike Gava, national youth commissar Lesley Ncube, the national youth secretary for administration Tapiwa Zengeya, national director for youth Affairs Cecilia Chivunga, deputy secretary for information and publicity Obert Mutasa, national youth secretary for finance and Lesman Humbe, the national secretary for health and child welfare.
Ncube told the meeting that a committee chaired by Chakanyuka which comprised himself, Gava, Chivunga and Mutasa sat on August 6 and found Gatsi guilty of misconduct.
Allegations are that on August 3, Gatsi “communicated (through mobile phone messages) deliberations of a national executive meeting without authority from the chairperson of the meeting, Absolom Sikhosana, who is the national secretary for youth affairs, to the national commissar, Cde Webster Shamu”.
“This was revealed later in the meeting by Honourable Shamu when he later on addressed the meeting,” he said.
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“He (Shamu) further stressed that this kind of behaviour was unwarranted and undermined both the authority of Cde Sikhosana and the national youth executive.” Ncube said when the committee led by Chakanyuka met it found Gatsi “guilty” as he had not earlier on disputed “evidence from the chief witness, Shamu”.
“We therefore instituted Article 10 on National and Subordinates Disciplinary Committee section 75 which states that: ‘Any member of the party who has been found guilty of any disciplinary offences prescribed by the constitution, rules and regulations shall be liable to any one or more of the following punishments, suspension or removal from holding any of the offices in the party’,” Ncube said.
He said Bulawayo province had been given two months to elect a new youth provincial chairperson. Speaking during the same occasion, Chakanyuka castigated Gatsi for allegedly trying to block the meeting.
“The national executive is the highest decision-making body and when we say there is a meeting, no one can tell people that the meeting is not there. We are not moved by the locking of the offices,” Chakanyuka said.
However, Gatsi told NewsDay that “the executive has no right to suspend me because they do not have a disciplinary committee, both at national and provincial level and I haven’t received any letter that says I was suspended”.
He also dismissed allegations he tried to block Saturday’s meeting.
“We agreed in the co-ordinating meeting on Friday that there won’t be any meeting on Saturday and Sunday at the offices because of the burial of (Zapu founder member Patrick) Ngwenya,” Gatsi said. “I only heard rumours that there were vendors singing at Davies Hall.”
Gatsi’s suspension is likely to change power dynamics in the Bulawayo provincial structures as the youth leader was largely considered a “king maker”.
He is allegedly aligned to Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s faction and was reported to be instrumental in the suspension of Bulawayo provincial chairperson Isaac Dakamela early this year.
