via Masvingo in anti-Mavhaire demo | The Herald November 20, 2014
Hundreds of Zanu-PF supporters, including war veterans, on Tuesday brought business in Masvingo city to a standstill after they staged a demonstration calling for the immediate resignation of Politburo members Cdes Dzikamai Mavhaire and Kudakwashe Bhasikiti.
The demonstrators demanded that the two also leave their posts in Government where Cde Mavhaire is the Energy and Power Development Minister and Cde Bhasikiti is the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs.
The placard-waving demonstrators, who were chanting Zanu-PF slogans and singing revolutionary songs, marched from the eastern side of the city and briefly camped at the Benjamin Burombo Government complex that houses Cde Bhasikiti’s offices. Scores of police officers in anti-riot gear escorted the demonstrators during their march.
About 20 anti-riot police officers were also camped at Benjamin Burombo building where they kept guard at the main entrances leading into Government offices.
The demonstrators accused Cdes Mavhaire and Bhasikiti of colluding in the campaign to remove President Mugabe from power in Masvingo in pursuit of a regime change agenda.
Cdes Mavhaire and Bhasikiti also came under fire for protecting the interests of Western-owned companies such as Lowveld sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, that was rapped for doling out money to the two Politburo members to oil their regime change machine through vote-buying ahead of the 6th Zanu-PF National People’s Congress set for next month.
Demonstrators carried placards with messages such as, “Pamberi naVaMugabe’’, Bhasikiti maDonations eChingwizi Aripi’’, “Pasi neTongaat Huletts’’, “Mavhaire Wazadza Hama Dzako kuZesa’’, among others that denigrated the two leaders.
Addressing the demonstrators who later camped at the Zanu-PF provincial offices in the city, newly-installed war veterans Masvingo provincial chairman Cde Charles Muchena said Cdes Mavhaire and Bhasikiti were the cause of people’s suffering in Masvingo.
Cde Muchena, who took over from Cde Francis Nando after his elevation at the recently-held war veterans congress, singled out Cde Bhasikiti for instigating the arrest of war veterans and other landless people in January this year for trying to take over Tongaat Hulett-owned sugarcane plantations in Chiredzi.
“We want (Cde) Bhasikiti to immediately make sure that the landless people and war veterans who were arrested for invading cane plantations in Chiredzi are released,” he said.
“He must also make sure that families whose homes and property, including seed, were burnt during their eviction from black-owned farms in Masvingo East are compensated and restored to their land.
“I am also ordering war veterans from Mwenezi to move into (Cde) Bhasikiti’s Moria Farm near Rutenga and demarcate plots for landless people starting today.”
Former Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairman Cde Lovemore Matuke attacked Cdes Mavhaire and Bhasikiti for rebelling against President Mugabe by trying to remove him from power, yet they benefited from the Zanu-PF leader’s benevolence that saw them being appointed to top Government posts despite their past.
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