Chief Fortune Charumbira’s recall from the Senate is reportedly linked to his failure to publicly support the controversial Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3.
The law gives President Emmerson Mnangagwa more powers to appoint members of the judiciary and the Senate and extends his second term by two years.
According to a source quoted by The Midweek Watch, Charumbira is paying the price for what the establishment sees as his lukewarm support for the Bill.
“Charumbira knows very well that he crossed the Rubicon when he failed to publicly support CAB3 as he used to do for ZANU PF in the 2018 general elections, when the Electoral Resource Centre took him to court for saying he is ZANU PF and every chief should support ZANU PF because it is their home,” the source said on condition of anonymity for fear of being expelled from the ruling party.
In 2018, the Electoral Resource Centre took Chief Charumbira to the High Court for openly supporting ZANU PF. The court ordered him to make a public retraction, which he refused to do.
Former ZANU PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman Temba Mliswa has been accused of playing a role in the recalls of Chief Charumbira, Chief Chitanga and Chief Nhema.
It is alleged that Mliswa gave US$10,000 to each chief from Masvingo during the Dzimbabwe World Tourism Expo in September.
“Mliswa mobilised over 40 Masvingo chiefs at The Village Restaurant in the industrial area and allegedly gave each US$10,000 while they were having lunch and instructed them to pass a vote recalling the three chiefs at the earliest opportunity,” the source said.
“He also allegedly threatened them with dethronement if they failed to follow the instructions because he is the President’s brother and will tell him to remove whoever doesn’t follow the line.”
Mliswa dismissed the allegations when contacted but confirmed having lunch with the chiefs at The Village Restaurant.
“Ndirimujibha wemadzimambo ose muZimbabwe, there is nothing sinister in having lunch with my chiefs. I didn’t give them anything,” said Mliswa.
“Chief Charumbira made his own bed, and he should sleep on it. I didn’t even attend the meeting that resulted in the recall, so I never influenced anyone to vote against the three chiefs.”
The source also told The Midweek Watch that after stripping Charumbira of his senatorship, the focus is now on his chieftainship.
“Plans are already in place to strip Chief Charumbira of his title as the establishment is determined to finish him off by the end of this year,” the source said.
Source: After losing Senate seat, is Chief Charumbira set to lose his chieftainship? ⋆ Pindula News
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