Political Reporter
A Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) rally in Kwekwe was called off yesterday as violent and drunk youths started assaulting each other resulting in many people sustaining serious injuries.
A source who spoke to this publication said that the violence erupted after drunken youths, alleged belonging to CCC co-vice president Tendai Biti, started booing Nelson Chamisa when he was giving his speech. The booing and mocking of Chamisa irked other CCC members who tried to dismiss the drunken youths from the venue.
“The violence started when the drunken youths belonging to Biti started booing the president (Chamisa). Some youths tried to dismiss the drunken youths from the venue so that they could not disturb proceedings. The violence then erupted when the drunken youths resisted an attempt to take them away from the meeting. The youths who started the violence are not from Kwekwe, but they were bussed from Harare aboard a yellow bus belonging to Biti,” said the source.
Contrary to social media claims that the Kwekwe violence was instigated by ZANU PF youths, the source said ZANU PF did not play a part in the melee.
“The violence started at the middle of the crowd. No ZANU PF member can have the courage to start violence while surrounded by CCC members. The people who started the violence were donning CCC regalia, an indication that they were CCC members,” added the source.
The source said he was surprised by Chamisa who failed to quench the violence, but instead incited the youths to fight each other.
“If Chamisa had shouted that the youths should stop the violence, the violence was going to stop. However, the crowd was surprised hearing Chamisa inciting the youths to fight back claiming that the instigators of the violence were not CCC members. Chamisa should have allowed the CCC marshals to stop the violence instead of him fuelling it by his remarks,” said the source.
A WhatsApp chat gleaned by this publication from a CCC group named CCC Main Board, exonerated ZANU PF from the violent clashes that were witnessed in Kwekwe. One Don Sipho wrote in the group that, ‘Guys, I was there when the commotion started, let’s leave ZANU PF out of this. Our comrades where drunk plus kutiza kwaita president vedu pa stage then made people to panic’.
The sight of visibly drunk youths is slowly becoming a permanent feature at CCC rallies and factional leaders within that party are allegedly taking advantage of the drunken youths to use them to settle personal scores against other members.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested CCC 16 members in connection with the Kwekwe violence. The suspects are expected to appear in court today.
