AN aspiring Zanu PF candidate who had his dreams scuppered after some unknown party officials reportedly affixed a Zapu logo on his campaign logos, still does not know what hit him. REPORT BY NDUDUZO TSHUMA
Being linked with Zapu, is literally treasonous in Zanu PF and Maploti Donga, despite his protestations of innocence, learnt the hard way, after he lost to Sithembiso Nyoni in the party’s recent primary elections.
Donga lost in the election that was conducted on Tuesday to Nyoni by 2 478 to 230 votes.
Donga has since made a report to the police, but that will do little to enhance his political chances in Zanu PF.
But some Zanu PF members and Zapu have accused Nyoni, the Small-to-Medium Scale Enterprises minister, of employing dirty tactics in an effort to retain the Nkayi North constituency.
They allege that people linked to Nyoni were behind the smear campaign.
“The people who distributed those flyers were sent by Nyoni so that there would be confusion among party supporters,” a party insider said. “The confusion benefited Nyoni because at the end she won because people were no longer sure whether or not to vote Donga.”
It was revealed that Donga had pasted his posters across the constituency, but then the unknown people pasted the ones with a Zapu logo on them.
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“It is obvious that Nyoni is behind the sabotage,” the insider continued. “The matter was reported to the police and Donga is waiting to hear from the provincial party leaders on the way forward.”
Donga declined to comment on the matter. When contacted for comment, Nyoni insisted that her campaign had been clean and her people were not involved in the sabotage of Donga’s campaign.
“Why don’t you ask Zapu?” she asked. “I hear the same thing happened in Beitbridge, but there they were using MDC logos. To be honest, my campaign was clean.” Nyoni said she was present when Donga reported the matter to the police, saying there was a possibility that someone wanted to cause a rift between the two of them.
“If you look at the margin that I won with and his votes, it is clear that my people were not involved in the alleged sabotage,” she said. “My campaign was clean and my people did things according to the party regulations — that there should not be violence or badmouthing of each other.” Responding to the indirect accusations from Nyoni, Zapu Matabeleland North provincial spokesperson Cleopas Zololo Moyo insisted that Nyoni’s people were behind Donga’s electoral sabotage. “A Zanu PF candidate decampaigned a fellow party member in the primary elections by printing posters with a Zapu logo,” he said. “Donga is not a member of Zapu.Our candidate there is Lawrence Siziba.”
