REST Chiduku, the son of self-appointed King Munhumutapa, born Timothy Chiminya, who was recently imposed as Bulawayo provincial organising secretary, was on Thursday arrested for allegedly masquerading as a government official and commissioner after visiting shops and bars checking their licences.
Chiduku’s appointment had led to the dismissal of Chiminya’s Bulawayo commissioner, Mandla Nkomo, and his spokesperson Chief Bekezela Bhekimpi Nyathi, who had challenged Chiduku’s appointment.
The arrest of Chiduku sent Nkomo and Nyathi into delirium, who felt hard done considering how much they worked hard to build support for the monarch.
Indications were that Chiduku was arrested in Bulawayo after police were tipped off about “a suspicious character” claiming to work for the government.
Pictures of Chiduku in handcuffs were posted on Zanu PF youth league’s Facebook page, with the youths warning the public to be careful of the criminals moving around claiming to be government officials.
“Beware of criminals moving around claiming to be government officials. Here is the one who claims to be a commissioner, he goes around checking licences in shops and bars,” the post read.
Bulawayo provincial acting police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele yesterday said she was yet to receive a report on Chiduku’s arrest.
Nkomo, a former commissioner for Chief Munhumutapa, said he worked very well under Nyathi, building structures in Bulawayo and Matabeleland provinces, including Zimbabwe at large.
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He said their efforts were to unite citizens and that they were dedicated when it comes to the culture of Rozvi/Lozwi people in Zimbabwe.
“To our surprise, King Munhumutapa imposed his son Chiduku to run the Matabeleland region, including us. That was totally wrong because we worked very hard building this dynasty in the Matabeleland region with Nyathi, a spiritually filled person and a humble leader who is filled with respect,” Nkomo said.
“When Chiminya saw that the (WhatsApp) chat group I opened had a higher number (of members) than other provinces sitting at 650, he thought he had the power to impose his son. We tried to advise him to stop it because that was wrong and tribalistic. He was very angry with me and Nyathi to the point of firing us.”
He added: “Nyathi advised King Munhumutapa not to fire me, but the king opted to send an audio endorsing Chiduku cementing that he is his biological son and people of Bulawayo and Matabeleland must listen to him nothing else.
“We left Chiminya and his son Chiduku, who has been just arrested because of going around conning people and collecting Moneys from shop owners and business people in Zimbabwe in the name of his father, King Munhumutapa.”
Southern Eye made repeated efforts to contact Chiminya yesterday, but his mobile number was not reachable.
Chiminya yesterday confirmed the arrest of Chiduku, but said his arrest has nothing to do with him as a king.
“What caused his arrest has nothing to do with Munhumutapa. It’s his own issues and the law has to be applied on him. If he is guilty, he should be proven guilty by the courts,” he said.
On the issue of Nkomo and Nyathi’s claims, Chiminya said Nyathi was his spokesperson and Nkomo was the commissioner.
“Nkomo was my commissioner and was the only one I chose. Nkomo is the one who appointed Chiduku to be his secretary, not my secretary. I just implemented what had been done by Nkomo as commissioner. Nkomo and Nyathi resigned giving their own reasons and I understood their issue, so I was not able to remain with them when they resigned,” Chiminya said.
“So Chiduku is the one who remained holding the position in Bulawayo. That he committed offences, it’s his own problem, because if he violated the law, the law must take its course. For him to go around saying he is a government official taking money from shops is not proper. I know the council has a licensing department which at times works with the police to do that.”
Chiminya said Chiduku was in the department of Forever Associate Zimbabwe (FAZ), a Central Intelligence Organisation-linked shadow group that campaigned for President Emmerson Mnangagwa ahead of the 2023 elections.
“He is in the FAZ department, he has an identity card of FAZ, but I was surprised that he produced the King Munhumutapa ID that we gave him where it is not supposed to be produced. Between Nkomo, Chiduku and Nyathi, they know each other. They are the ones who looked for each other. Chiduku had the advantage that he is a Moyo like myself,” Chiminya said.
He said the three are all based in Bulawayo and he has commissioners all over the country, but only Bulawayo province is the one that has these problems.
“Nyathi and Nkomo resigned, but what they did wrong is that they hijacked a group with 600 people and started removing people from being group administrators,” he said.
