Ward One Councillor Mayor Mlandu Ncube has accused Bulawayoย Deputy Mayor Tinashe Kambarami of bribing his way to landing the seat.
The two youthful councillors were both in the race to land the post but Kambarami beat Ncube to the post garnering 16 votes while the latter only managed 13 votes.
However, Kambarami was accused by the party of going against a party directive and was issued with a seven day ultimatum to step down from the position.
He resigned on Saturday before he was elected back to the same position unopposed two days later.
In an interview with CITE, Tuesday, Ncube said Kambarami should resign from council and not with the party.
โWe had a meeting with councillors yesterday (Monday) and the issue of the procedure of resignation was stated,โ said Ncube.
He added: โYou have to write a letter, resign and pave a way for a successor. The leadership that presided over the meeting agreed. That was the resolution and after that l went out, later on, to hear that Kambarami has been re-elected.โ
Ncube accused Kambarami,of colluding with senior party officials to bribe councillors to vote Kambarami back, defying the Presidentโs directive.
โThere are some corrupt activities that took place where other Councillors decided to defy and do what will benefit individuals. This led me to not be elected as the Deputy Mayor for Bulawayo,โ said Ncube.
โI have evidence where people were bought shoes and some senior members of the party who were going against the Presidentโs directive being seen driving to Bulawayo to intimidate Councillors saying they should vote for whom they want,โ he added.
He said due to poverty, councillors gave in to the bribery and voted Kambarami as the deputy mayor.
โSome councillors did not use their brains in voting for Deputy Mayor. They voted using their stomachs. I do not blame them because they do not have money.
โYou find that some of these councillors are in their first term of office and when they came to office they thought they were going to Canaan, but alas, that was not the case,โ he stated.
He said the matter is being investigated by the party hence he cannot release the names of the accused.
Asked if MDC is a divided party, Ncube said there are certain individuals causing confusion, thinking they are the party.
โThe party is united, moving forward and very strong.ย People think they are special in the party are the one with a problem. They do not follow the word of the Presidentโโ he said.
