ZANU PF deputy Minister under siege from party mob
By Tichaona Sibanda
11 July 2011
The ZANU PF MP for Marondera East and deputy Minister of Labour and Social
Welfare, Tracy Mutinhiri, had to seek police protection from a ZANU PF mob
that was threatening to take over her Tapiwanashe farm on Saturday.
Mutinhiri, best known for views that have put her at odds with many in ZANU
PF, had to fend off the threatening mob following allegations that she is
too close to the MDC-T, especially its leader Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Mutinhiri, whose former husband is Ambrose Mutinhiri a retired army general
and former diplomat, is also accused of having voted for Lovemore Moyo, the
MDC-T candidate for the Speaker of Parliament post, earlier this year. She
has denied the accusations.
Several reports quote the deputy Minister accusing State Security Minister
Sydney Sekeramayi for instigating the siege. Mutinhiri told journalists that
she had become enemy number one within her party, because her comrades were
jealous of her good fortune and closeness to Tsvangirai.
A team of heavily armed police officers in riot gear was sent to protect
Mutinhiri from the mob, which was baying for her blood. There are reports
that Sekeramayi, who lost the 2008 party primary elections to Mutinhiri, has
made it a point to dethrone the deputy Minister from the constituency.
Sekeramayi did make it back to parliament after he was nominated as ZANU PF’s
candidate for the Senate from Marondera-Hwedza in Mashonaland East. He won
this seat by 24,571 votes against 17,370 for Jane Chifamba of the MDC-T. But
there are reports the MDC-T has made major inroads in his senatorial seat
and that Sekeramayi would find it difficult to retain it.
State security allegedly held a meeting with war vets in Marondera last week
Thursday where it was planned to invade the farm. SW Radio Africa is
reliably informed the real reasons behind the attacks on Mutinhiri are to
scare her to ‘quit’ the Marondera East seat.
‘The real politics behind this is very simple. Sekeramayi is not guaranteed
to win back his senate seat and has thus targeted a manageable parliamentary
seat,’ an MDC-T MP said.
He told us that according to their calculations the MDC-T has since 2008
gained more support in Marondera Central, West and part of Marondera East,
which all combined make up the senatorial seat held by Sekeramayi.
‘The Marondera East parliamentary seat is peri-urban and includes many farms
that were invaded by ZANU PF supporters in the last decade. So there is
quite a significant high number of ZANU PF supporters in the constituency,
making it a manageable seat, though the MDC-T can quite easily grab it in
the next election,’ the MP said.
The invasion of the Mutinhiri farm is ironic considering that it was
Brigadier Mutinhiri, with the help of war vets, who illegally invaded and
seized the property in 2002.
It was one of Zimbabwe’s most productive and profitable cattle, tobacco and
mazie farms, worth about £8 million.
The legal owner, Mr. Cartwright, had built homes for his large workforce,
complete with electricity and water and had provided a school for the 400
children who lived on the farm.