Rowdy Zanu PF militants last week confiscated headman Elias Murape’s badge of honour and other regalia, stripping him of his status, after accusing him of supporting the opposition Movement For Democratic Change (MDC). The youths, numbering about 20, last week visited Headman Murape’s homestead in Domboshava Communal Lands, about 36 kilometres north-east of Harare, and accused him of supporting the opposition MDC. They had been riled by headman Murape’s presence at a well-attended rally which was addressed by the leader of the opposition MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai. According to eye-witnesses from the village, the headman is said to have told Tsvangirai that he was now living in fear after the youths had threatened him with death. He said his support for the opposition had created problems for himself and his subjects who were now being monitored by the ruling party militias in the area.
The youths accused Murape of selling out and not supporting the controversial land reform programme. They alleged that the headman was illegally allocating land to MDC supporters from the urban areas so as to boost the party’s support base in rural areas in preparation for the forthcoming parliamentary elections next year. They then demanded the headman’s badge and told him that he had been stripped of his powers as the local headman. They also ordered him not to collect his monthly allowance of $500 000 which the government is giving to all headmen in Zimbabwe’s 57 districts. Fearing for his life, Murape handed over the badge and the regalia to the youths, who later forwarded it to the District Administrator’ s office for Goromonzi. Officials at the District Administrator’s Office confirmed that they had received the headman’s badge and regalia from the Zanu PF youths. The incident comes a few days after President Mugabe signed a regional charter on free and fair elections.

The charter is based on 10 guidelines that include political tolerance, freedom of association, full participation of citizens, impartiality of electoral institutions, independence of the judiciary, voter education and equal opportunity for all political parties to access the public media.

The charter states that SADC states holding elections should ensure the scrupulous implementation of the principles and take precautions to prevent fraud or rigging, provide security for all parties and ensure transparency and integrity of the entire election process.

The MDC has of late been making forays into Zimbabwe’s rural areas where the ruling party commands a majority. The visit to Domboshava by Tsvangirai is one of such strategies by the opposition.