Chipangano, a Zanu PF youth militia outfit, has been causing havoc in Harare, terrorising residents and disrupting MDC-T rallies. Bekithemba Nyathi, the MDC-T Bulawayo youth assembly chairperson, said the party’s youths will not tolerate the intimidation of city residents by Chipangano when it comes to Bulawayo for Zanu PF’s conference.
“We know those thugs might come to Bulawayo during Zanu PF’s conference to intimidate residents. As the MDC-T youth assembly, we warn those gangsters that they will be taught a lesson if they export their violence to the city,” Nyathi said in an interview.
“Our parents in Bulawayo and Matabeleland as a whole have suffered a lot under Zanu PF since independence, for example during Gukurahundi. “As such, we warn those Chipangano militias that they will not be tolerated in the city by the party’s youths.”
He said the MDC-T youth assembly will not “allow them to come during the Zanu PF conference to disturb the peace and tranquility prevailing in Bulawayo”.
Zanu PF holds its conference in Bulawayo in early December where the party is also set to endorse Robert Mugabe as the party’s presidential candidate in upcoming polls.
A number of politically-motivated incidents of violence in Harare, particularly in Mbare, have been blamed squarely on Chipangano, which is allegedly being sponsored by senior Zanu PF officials.
The group have taken over control of the Mbare-Musika market, the country’s busiest bus terminus, where they extort money from vegetable vendors as well as from touts. They also control informal markets such as Siya-So, Magaba home industries, car parks and Mupedzanhamo flea market.The militia operate with impunity and have not been arrested.
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Police must impartially maintain order: Chamisa
Nelson Chamisa (pictured), the MDC-T national organising secretary said the police must maintain order and “the law must be applied fully and impartially in bringing all perpetrators to book for the sake of peace, security and stability.
“Zimbabweans have suffered enough and are not going to endure another political semester of tears and blood,” said Chamisa. “By turning to violence now and even beyond, Zanu PF must gear itself for yet another undignified exit from Zimbabwe’s political spectrum. Times have changed.”
