Council proceedings at Insiza Rural District Council were abruptly halted on Monday due to a boycott by ZANU-PF councillors, reportedly in protest against the council chairperson, Reason Msipha, who was elected with the support of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members.
Sources within the council indicated that the ZANU-PF councillors are unhappy with Msipha’s chairmanship, which they believe was only possible due to CCC votes.
“We had a full council meeting today, we were supposed to start at 10 am, but right now it’s 12 midday and we are still waiting, when we got here, all ZANU-PF members went outside and had their meeting, we don’t know what is happening or what they are planning. The rumour is that they want to change the whole structure of chairpersons. They want Reason Msipha to step down, we don’t know what to do,” said one councillor.
The councillor added that the boycott was meant “to frustrate us so that we could leave and they vote again on their own and change everything. They don’t want the chairperson of social services”.
The Zanu PF councillors held a separate meeting outside the council chambers before adjourning the full council meeting without providing any explanation.
According to another councillor, the ZANU-PF members are seeking to change the council’s leadership structure to remove Msipha and replace him with their preferred candidate, Luke Dube, who lost the election to Msipha. They are questioning how Msipha secured votes from CCC members and are reportedly pressuring him to resign.
Msipha, however, has reportedly refused to step down, stating that he was duly elected and should not be forced out.
Contacted for a comment, Msipha declined to comment saying he would first consult his party before responding.
