A senior councilor in Zimbabwe’s eastern city of Mutare allegedly fainted and had to seek medical help when he lost a mayoral election to a rival, who is a member of the newly-formed opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa.
Mutare deputy mayor, Farai Bhiza, gasped for air and had to be attended by medical personnel from the city council when Simon Chabuka beat him by six votes.
Bhiza of the MDC formation led by Douglas Mwonzora told VOA Zimbabwe that “the election has been conducted and Chabuka is the new mayor. It’s not that I fainted as such as something happened to me in such a way that I became dizzy.”
The two were contesting the mayoral post left vacant after Mwonzora’s party recalled Blessing Tandi.
A jubilant Chabuka, who could not be drawn to comment on this issue, said, I wish to thank everyone for electing me as mayor of the city of Mutare.
I will work diligently with people of Mutare as their mayor to ensure that we cater for all their needs.
There are some projects which we will work together to implement. These include the Dangamvura water project, Gimboki issue, Odzani Water Works and others. We will work on them as soon as possible.
The Mwonzora formation recalled several lawmakers and councilors linked to Chamisa’s MDC Alliance before the latter formed CCC.
