been assaulted in 2008. The fertilizer was distributed in February and to date Sundai
has not been given his fertilizer. He went to the village head on 15 March 2016 to ask
about his fertilizer but no satisfactory response was given.
On 29 March 2016, councillor Taurai Clifford Nhamburo of the MDC-T of Ward 4,
Murape in Goromonzi West held a social welfare meeting with all residents. The
agenda was food handouts distribution methods to be used and the need for residents
to desist from selling stands in wetlands and other inhabitable areas. He told the
village heads to make sure that villagers chose a committee to represent people at
meetings rather than everyone attending meetings. He said all vulnerable people were
going to get free food while able bodied would work for food. He said registration of
beneficiaries would commence through village heads and their committees were to be
forwarded to the councillor. However, since the councillor is the district chairperson
he had to attend the funeral of the MDC-T ex-official. Soon after the meeting he
rushed to Harare. Member of Parliament Beater Nyamupinga was supposed to be part
of the meeting however she arrived at the venue at 12. 30 when the councillor had
already left but some people were still there. Nyamupinga was allegedly not happy
that the councillor dismissed people before she arrived and accused him of doing that
because he was MDC-T and she was Zanu-PF. She claimed that she was the
councillor's boss and he was supposed to take orders from her. She rubbished
everything the councillor had said and reversed all that the councillor had agreed with
the villagers and said registration of beneficiaries was going to be done at the hall in
her presence. She told people to attend the registration process the following Monday
and said because of the councillor's behaviour he ceased to be a councillor taking
decisions on his own from that day onwards. She allegedly further a Mrs Dhero of
Zanu-PF, as representative in all meetings convened by the elected councillor. She is
the one said to be in charge of the food programme. Nyamupinga denied to ZPP that
she had “appointed” another councillor but acknowledged the presence of Dhero in
the running of affairs saying Dhero was a representative of hers whom she asked to
sit, in meetings convened by the MDC-T councillor. “I can’t trust him and he
can’t trust me. We are political animals, we put the interests of our parties first. In
any case, what should the MDC-T councillor have to do with food distribution? How
can he talk about any food as if he has a president in office?”The MP has no
constitutional authority to disregard the role of an elected councillor.
Mashonaland West
On 4 March 2016, at Mashuma Business Centre in Hurungwe West a headman was
accused of assaulting a villager over a dispute on distribution of maize. The victim,
Timothy Mazuvarodoka (not real name) was slapped by the headman after the
headman had skipped his name from the list. The dispute arose when the victim tried
to tell the headman that it was his turn to receive maize but in response the perpetrator
said "tinongokunyorai pasi asi hamuwane muchawanao hameno (we just write your
name but not a guarantee that you will benefit)”. This statement did not augur well
with the victim who informed councillor for Ward 17 Matthew Runi that his headman
had put his two wives and son on the receiving list leaving out other beneficiaries
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