Political Reporter
CHINHOYI. – Flamboyant politician Philip Chiyangwa who is also the Zanu-PF legislator for Zvimba South Costituency has been exposed in a vote buying scandal shenanigans that occurred during the last weekend’s Kariba urban council by-election.
A leaked audio in possession of HourlyHits and originating from a Mashonaland West ZANU PF Youth League Provincial Member Stembeni Madzima narrated how Chiyangwa provided the money for votes campaign.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) national spokesperson Fadzai Mahere said their intelligence teams busted ZANU PF bases where Kariba youths were being paid money by Chiyangwa after showing pictures of their voting slips.
“We note with concern numerous irregularities reported by our teams of vote buying where people were told to bring evidence that they have voted for ZANU PF and were being offered money,” she said
Madzima who is also from Chiyangwa’s costituency thanked the former ZIFA boss in the leaked audio for having the ruling party at heart by availing the undisclosed amount of money for vote buying.
“The money issue went well and we were targeting those people who are not our members as there is no reason to pay our members. We were targeting the opposition, ” she said
“We were only paying money only after the person produced a picture of their identity document and the voting slip showing they have voted for ZANU PF, ” Madzima narrated in the audio
She also revealed that some voters tried to get the money without voting for ZANU PF
“Some people claimed they had failed to take pictures saying their phones did not have cameras but we are not that daft.
“They were trying just to get the money from us. So that’s when we realized things were not going our way and we had to stop the disbursements,” she said.
Madzima also revealed how ZANU PF District Cordinating Committee members tried to attack her demanding money on the eve of the election day.
Madzima argued that they should have gone into the election assured of 120 votes from the party ward district structure before other voters from branch and cell structures which she said exposed Kariba party leadership for producing non existence structures.
The CCC trounced Zanu PF in the Kariba Ward 5 by-election held this Saturday. Collated results show that CCC polled 303 votes against 175 by Zanu-PF.
Chiyangwa did not respond to written questions sent to him even though the delivery was confirmed. He also would not pick up the phone.
