THE 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement (1893MRM), a registered movement pushing for self-determination and sovereignty of the Matabeleland region, has added its voice to the ongoing Bulawayo deputy mayor debacle saying embattled Councillor Tinashe Kambarami is unfit for office.
Kambarami is said to have been imposed on the electorate by his party despite having a criminal record.
In July, Kambarami (32) once appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate on theft charges.
He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $80 or 18 days in prison for stealing an extension cord from an electrician he had hired to do manual work at his offices.
According to the 1893 Mthwakazi movement, the MDC Alliance violated the public’s trust by allowing a convicted criminal to hold public office.
The movement cited Section 119 (2) (e) of the Electoral Act: Section 41 (7) and Section 41 (8) of the Urban Councils Act that bar convicted persons from holding public office.
Section 119 (2) (e) of the Electoral Act reads, “a person shall be disqualified from being nominated as a candidate for or from election as a councillor if he or she has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty”.
In a press statement, the Mthwakazi movement said it was criminal not only on the part of Kambarami but as well as the MDC Alliance for failing to conduct thorough background checks on its candidates.
“MDC Alliance had an obligation to do reasonable or thorough background checks and declarations of the legal standings of all its nominated officials meant to run for office throughout Zimbabwe.
“Clearly in the case of Kambarami the MDC Alliance either turned a blind eye or colluded in his illegal nomination to represent the party both as councillor and ultimately as Deputy Mayor of Bulawayo,” said the movement.
1893 MRM argued that the electorate could not be faulted for voting for Kambarami because they had no investigative obligations but trusted the party to field candidates who were above reproach.
“What the MDC Alliance did with Kambarami is a complete betrayal of trust to the community of Bulawayo and most importantly it is an illegal act that continues to exist against the MDC Alliance for as long as Kambarami remains a self-confessed convicted criminal employed
to the City’s second highest municipal office,” noted the non-political party.
Owing to the above claims and criminal charges, the Mthwakazi movement, said Kambarami, and MDC Alliance under Nelson Chamisa must be legally held accountable.
“This is not a matter of party politics and MDC Alliance internal power squabbles. This is about the lives of Bulawayo residents and their monies that are entrusted with the public office of Bulawayo’s Mayor and his Deputy.
“This is about officials using unscrupulous, criminal disrespectful means to deceive the electorate in order to get into public office. Bulawayo must stand as one and remove the criminal officers from our public offices,” read the statement.
In early November, Kambarami was given a seven-day ultimatum to step down from the Bulawayo deputy mayor post after he was accused of defying a party directive on the selection of the city’s deputy mayor.
He succumbed to pressure and stepped down but was re-elected back to his post.
