BY BAYANDA NKATHA
Former Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dlamini has joined Zanu-PF alongside over 500 other opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members in Binga and Hwange.
Zanu-PF National Political Commissar Munyaradzi Machacha welcomed the returnees, including:
– Former legislator Patrick Nene Sibanda
– Former Binga Rural District chairman Munkombwe Dube
– Incumbent Mbizha Ward councillor Namo Chuma, who won the 2023 elections on an independent ticket
– Former councillors [names not specified]
Dlamini, who was sentenced to 36 months in prison last year for fraud, vowed to bring more people to join the party. “I am not coming here for positions but to build our country and defend the gains of the liberation struggle. My coming here is not a threat to anyone,” he said.
Zanu-PF’s Kumusha/Home/Ekhaya programme, led by Blessing Chebundo, aims to welcome returning members from the opposition. The new members were welcomed in Milonga on Saturday and Sonkaba on Sunday.
Dlamini contested for the Hwange West parliamentary seat as an independent candidate last year but was defeated by Vusumuzi Moyo of CCC.
This was after his defection as one of the strong supporters of Douglas Mwonzora’s faction after a fallout with Nelson Chamisa.