Marondera Central legislator Caston Matewu (MDC Alliance) has divided Zanu PF structures in the district after he recently joined First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to hand over a donation to needy communities in Mahusekwa.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
NewsDay is reliably informed that the party members wanted their shadow MP, Cleopas Kundiona, to be part of the proceedings, instead of Matewu, with the latter also facing criticism from a section of opposition supporters accusing him of double-dipping.
Kundiona, a Zanu PF godfather in Marondera, lost to Matewu in the 2018 general elections.
Auxillia’s philanthropic arm, Angel of Hope, reportedly invited all the district’s three MPs, including Matewu, to bring the elderly to Mahusekwa, where they received grocery donations.
This did not go down well with other Zanu PF supporters who felt their own elderly party supporters were sidelined, while those from the opposition party benefitted.
Some Zanu PF party officials have reportedly approached their district leaders and local government officials to complain over the matter.
“Last week, some Zanu PF supporters and leaders in Marondera openly said that they were not happy with Matewu being part of the First Lady’s delegation to Mahusekwa, saying they could have chosen their own. They have since approached higher offices in the district over the matter,” a top party official, who refused to be named, said.
“They are also angry over how some government officials allowed Matewu to bring MDC party supporters as beneficiaries.”
Efforts to get a comment from Mashonaland East provincial chairperson Joel Biggie Matiza were fruitless yesterday.
Pictures of Matewu and the elderly whom he brought from central Marondera as beneficiaries went viral on social media, angering the ruling party members in the process.
The MDC Alliance in Mashonaland East. News Day
