Meanwhile, Zanu-PF Mashonaland West Chairperson, Temba Mliswa and businessperson, Phillip
Chiyangwa exchanged harsh words in public during the First Lady Grace Mugabe’s rally in Lupane,
ostensibly after the latter denounced ‘gamatox’. Similarly, MDC-T had its fair share in the war of
words and mudslinging with Binga legislator Prince Madubeko Sibanda and former Umguza
councillor Mxolisi Ndlovu fighting for the provincial secretary’s post resulted in Sibanda labelling
Ndlovu a ‘proxy and a farm worker’ who does not qualify for the position.
Physical violence also marred political events in the county. MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai's
direct involvement in accrediting delegates to attend the party's congress is said to have triggered
violence in Manicaland on 12 October 2014 as participants felt he was targeting people perceived to
be aligned to the Renewal Team fronted by Tendai Biti. MDC-T members in Ruwa held a meeting to
elect the district executive in preparation of the congress that was scheduled for 31 October 2014.
Some party members were disgruntled by the outcome of the election as the number of votes did not
tally with the registered voters. That conflict led to violent clashes among the party members. The
police had to be called in to quell the violence.
Property rights violations remained prevalent in areas like Mashonaland Central Province with
incidents of lawlessness and disregard for private property rights as displacements and evictions
continued to take place. In October twenty families were evicted at Chitamba farm in Mazowe South
just 20 kilometres from Harare along the Harare Bindura road. The families and their belongings are
still camped at the main road opposite Glenara Estate for more than two weeks now. Mazowe Citrus
lost a portion of its land to pave way for the expansion of the Mazowe Orphanage belonging to the
First Lady Mrs. Grace Mugabe.
FOOD AND OTHER FORMS OF AID VIOLATIONS
While cases related to humanitarian food and other forms of aid distribution were lower, isolated
cases of such processes being politicized continued to filter in. The month of October recorded 10
cases as compared to seven reported in September 2014.
Midlands Province
On 9 October, Kudzai Mashu of the MDC-T in Nyoka Village, Chiwundura Ward 11 is alleged to
have chased away a Zanu PF supporter from where the Baptist Church of New York was donating
some food hampers which included peanut butter, rice, sugar beans, cooking oil, washing soap,
toothpaste and skimmed milk. Mashu is said to have told Zanu PF supporter that the food stuff were
coming from the western countries, so it was only meant for MDC-T members.
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Mashonaland Central
The province witnessed an introduction of a
programme in which every farmer would have to
make a down payment of $80 in order to get
farming inputs from the government driven input
scheme. The inputs include 3 bags of compound D,
2 bags of Ammonium Nitrate and a 10 kg of maize
seed. The total cost of the inputs is $150 and the
farmers are expected to pay the remainder of $70
after harvest which the farmers claimed was out of
reach.
Mashonaland East
An MDC-T party supporter was denied access to seed and fertilizer from the Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) by Accurate Rushizha and Amon Sengwe of Zanu PF as punishment for not attending a Zanu
PF meeting. This occurred on 1 October 2014 at Musumha School, Sadza in Chikomba East. There
was one positive report received from Maramba Pfungwe constituency where beneficiaries for the
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