THE weekend suspension of Zanu PF Manicaland youth leader Pedzisai Mudende over forgery and corruption charges has shaken the province currently rocked by factional fights.
Mudende, who is Zanu PF Manicaland youth administration secretary and a known ally of Manicaland provincial chairperson Mike Madiro, was booted out of a provincial youth meeting in Mutare on Sunday for breaching party rules.
Mudende’s suspension comes after another Madiro top ally, Zanu PF Buhera district co-ordinating committee chairperson Cosmore Chimombe, was suspended from the party last week over intra-party violence.
The violence reportedly rocked the district during the ruling party’s cell restructuring exercise in Chimombe East, Chimvuri and Chiremwa.
Madiro and Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa are reportedly at loggerheads, with the latter allegedly accusing the provincial chairperson of imposing candidates in the province. Madiro is also Transport deputy minister.
Sources who attended the Manicaland meeting confirmed the development to NewsDay yesterday claiming that Mudende forged an identity card to be included in the provincial youth structures last year.
To be in the youth league one has to be 35 years and below.
“We realised that he (Mudende) had two identity cards, last year he forged an identity card claiming that he was born in 1990, while he was born in 1970, he wanted to be included in the provincial youth league. So the party realised that Mudende had forged an identity card last year, we had to ask him to leave a meeting in Mutare on Sunday because of the allegations. We also realised that he was victimising people in Chipinge asking them to contribute money to get land,” said the source.
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Contacted for comment yesterday Mudende said: “l am not allowed to speak to the Press, please speak to my bosses.”
Zanu PF Manicaland provincial youth chairperson Stanley Sakupwanya confirmed the suspension.
“I can confirm that we have suspended our secretary for administration. We are following party procedures as we are carrying out our own investigations,” he told NewsDay yesterday.
Madiro has for weeks persistently refused to comment on factionalism in the province, while Mutsvangwa’s mobile phone was not being answered yesterday.
