2023 Elections Tear Family Apart: Losing ZANU-PF Candidate Attempts to Abduct CCC Relative
Elections often stir strong emotions and can even lead to divisions within families. Zimbabwe’s recent elections are a prime example of this.
A family conflict has arisen following the election in Lupane East Constituency, where a Zanu PF candidate was hoping to be elected Member of Parliament. The candidate accused her sister-in-law, who was working as a polling agent for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), of undermining her campaign efforts. This accusation was made in connection to the candidate’s loss in the election.
The Zanu PF candidate was deeply affected by her defeat and expressed a strong desire for revenge. The CCC polling agent, named Bongani Ndlovu, shared with Source that her aunt, the Zanu PF candidate, had even threatened to have her kidnapped. In Bongani’s words:
I was a CCC agent in ward 18, ward centre Makhovula, my aunt wanted to be a Member of Parliament under ZANU-PF, so she lost and now blames me for de-campaigning her. She said she would look for people to make me disappear.
Staying true to her threat, Ndlovu’s aunt sent people with instructions to abduct her. Fortunately, she wasn’t at home at the time of the attempted abduction. Bongani reported the incident to the police for their intervention.
Bongani Ndlovu also recounted that her brother-in-law, Mkhululi Ncube, who is a police officer, contacted her to question her decision to support the CCC. He wondered why she was involved with the CCC when their family supported ZANU-PF. Bongani clarified that she had always been a supporter of CCC and that her aunt had not sought her support.
Bongani expressed her current state of fear and shared her perspective on why her aunt might have lost the election:
“But this ZANU-PF found us already under CCC, and this aunt didn’t come to us seeking our support. I am now living in fear, my aunt doesn’t even stay here she is based in Bulawayo, she came here for her campaign. She now blames me for her loss as if I am the one who told the whole of Lupane East not to vote for her,” she said.
“It’s a Family Matter,” Claims ZANU-PF Supporter
When contacted by the same publication for a comment, Ncube downplayed the situation as a minor misunderstanding. He accused Bongani of fabricating the story and urged her not to feel threatened, emphasizing that it was a family matter.
“There is just a small misunderstanding, She is our daughter-in-law, so I guess she is just making up a story. The issue is that she was a CCC agent whilst the aunt was campaigning for ZANU-PF, that is the story, She must not feel threatened it’s a family matter,” clarified Ncube.
Source iHarare
