The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
BELEAGUERED Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni of Ntabazinduna was yesterday singing another tune when he said he is not in any way associated with MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa, claiming they had been mistakenly yoked together after a run-of-the-mill meeting between the two last year.
After making controversial statements that seemed to parrot opposition positions like the tightening of Western-sponsored illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe, Chief Ndiweni has been cautioned by various political actors and analysts to stick to his core mandate and stop meddling in the country’s politics.
Seemingly angered by the Government’s decision to settle an indigenous farmer on land previously occupied by a white farmer, the British-bred chief has gone full throttle calling for more sanctions despite evidence that the country’s path to reform and recovery was being hampered by the ruinous sanctions from Western countries.
In an interview on the sidelines of a meeting he called to drum up support for the evicted white farmers at Ntabazinduna Mountain yesterday, Chief Ndiweni claimed that he had no links with Chamisa despite claims from a local independent daily that he had endorsed the embattled opposition leader. At the time, Chief Ndiweni was quoted saying Chamisa “was a breath of fresh air who has youthfulness behind him and can accept ideas very quickly”.
He told Sunday News: “In my area of jurisdiction, my people will vote differently. Some will follow this party and some will follow that party but at the end of the day they’re still my people and so I will address my concerns to them. So even though speaking on that particular level, I come back to the essence of why we’re here. This is about purely the mountain, how the mountain is in danger of being taken away. But to answer directly those that are pushing aspersions directly towards my way, those aspersions only emanate from one photograph which was taken after I had a meeting with Nelson Chamisa in Harare. I went there with Godlwayo (Chief Maduna). It was a fact finding meeting, a fact finding tour. Just like I’ve seen so many ministers in the current administration, just because I went to their offices, would people be saying I’m affiliated to them?”
Chief Ndiweni has in the past also set up a parallel organisation to the Chiefs Council under the banner of College of Amakhosi, where he is reportedly seeking to rope in some traditional leaders from Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
“I didn’t get a response from Chief Charumbira (president of the Chiefs Council) but I got responses from other senior chiefs. Currently they’re non-existent because we differ profoundly on our beliefs. We differ profoundly on the role of a chief. I strongly believe that a chief should never ever get involved in party politics,” he said.
Chief Ndiweni angered the Government and Zimbabweans in general when he appealed to the international community to escalate sanctions on the President Mnangagwa’s Government, claiming it has failed to pursue democracy.
