Cletus Mushanawani, Mutare Bureau — Zanu PF has suspended five Mutare District Coordination Committee members for alleged indiscipline and illegal parcelling out of land in the Gimboki area of Mutare under the cover of the ruling party's name.
Zanu PF Manicaland provincial secretary for information and publicity Cde Sam Matema said the suspended five were Mutare DCC chairman Binali Yard and executive members Brian Marange, Tawanda Ndawe, Webster Mudzimwa and Trust Matimba.
In a statement this week, Cde Matema, who is also the Member of National Assembly for Buhera Central, said the five were suspended on account of indiscipline and illegalities finding expression in the illegal parcelling of land in the Gimboki area of Mutare municipality under the cover of the party's name.
"Zanu PF is a party that is principled, structured, disciplined and with order, and brooks no indiscipline and corrupt activities," he said. "We formed the Government as the ruling party, and we want to see the genuine concerns of the citizenry being addressed by both local and central Government in a legal and orderly manner without bringing the name of the revolutionary party, Zanu PF, into disrepute."
Yard, Marange, Ndawe, Mudzimwa and Matimba were arrested last week by a team of detectives from the police CID Anti-Corruption Unit and CID Homicide from Harare.
They are facing charges of contravening Section 24 (1) as read with Section 24 (4) of the Regional Town and Country Planning Act, over unlawfully carrying out development without permission or alternatively criminal trespass under the criminal code.
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They were not asked to plead when they appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Tendai Mahwe who remanded them in custody to December 29, so they will spend Christmas behind bars.
In denying them bail, Mr Mahwe said Yard once fled from the police after a high-speed chase in Mutare.
He also stated that police had failed to arrest the five since September, and it had to take the intervention of law enforcement agents from Harare to bring them to book.
The court also ruled that Yard once threatened some witnesses from Mutare City Council who are the complainant; hence if granted bail, the accused persons might use their political influence to threaten witnesses.
The five were represented by Mr Chris Ndlovu of Gonese and Ndlovu Legal Practitioners, while Mrs Tadiwanashe Muuya represented the State.
Mr Ndlovu was this week making frantic efforts to approach the High Court to appeal the no-bail ruling.
"We filed the appeal at the High Court. We are informed that the State will oppose it. We are still waiting for their written response," said Mr Ndlovu on Thursday.
