Local Government minister Daniel Garwe, a close Mnangagwa ally, says the Harare City Council is “rotten, corrupt and is being run by corrupt people who must be brought to book” – locked up.
So the agenda is to investigate city’s affairs and city fathers – who are largely from the now compromised opposition – in order to arrest them using the commission’s findings and take over running of Harare, the capital, via a commission, a tried and tested Zanu PF method to usurp voters’ mandate like they did after the 2000 elections which removed the ruling party from major municipalities and councils up to now.
In 2000, MDC official Elias Mudzuri was elected Harare mayor by an overwhelming majority as the opposition sent shock waves across the political landscape, leaving the late former president Robert Mugabe and his party shaking in their boots.
However, in 2003, Mudzuri was suspended and his deputy Sekesai Makwavarara, who was initially elected on an MDC ticket but later crossed the line to join Zanu PF, took over on an acting basis.Later the then Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo appointed an eight-member commission to run the City of Harare.
The same approach is currently being mulled by Mnangagwa and his government, and Garwe all but confirmed the plot.
Video: Courtesy of Rory Studios
