A week is a long time in politics! This famous quote attributed to former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson became a reality for Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) Insiza Ward 4 aspiring councillor Augustine Gumede who suffered heavy losses in a week.
Gumede had his home destroyed by suspected Zanu PF members last Monday and went on to lose the by-election held on Saturday.
The assailants destroyed window panes at Gumede’s homestead, windscreens of his two vehicles, asbestos, solar panel, and other household properties.
Gumede, however, escaped before they could get to him and went into hiding but resurfaced on election day.
Gumede went on to lose to ZANU-PF’s Daniel Dube, who polled 578 votes against his 415, according to results released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
CITE caught up with Gumede Saturday, who was the first person to cast his vote at Mleja Primary School Polling Station, Insiza South.
“I want to set a good example for my followers to follow and appreciate the fact that voting has to be done in the morning,” he told CITE.
“Yes indeed there was political violence and I don’t know how I survived. I was helped by people who were around who managed to block the attackers, allowing me to escape, otherwise, I would have been killed.”
Gumede further explained: “My homestead is now ruined because they literally destroyed everything. I escaped and hid in the bush. This is what I have been doing: I have been coming home to check the situation, cook, eat and then return to the bush. I would sit on top of a hill so as to closely monitor what is happening around my homestead.”
He said there was no way the by-election could have been free and fair citing voter intimidation.
“ZANU-PF needs to be retired,” he added.
“It is an old political party. They should just retire and give the younger generation a chance to lead.”
