An incident of alleged fraud is threatening to cause trouble for a Kariba man and the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party.
Andrew Mutsau is accused of forging the signatures of two senior CCC officials on his nomination papers to run as the party’s parliamentary candidate for Kariba.
Police are keen to question Mutsau, who is unknown within CCC ranks. It is alleged he forged the signatures of Mutsa Murombedzi and MP Concilia Chinhanzvana, designated as signatories for CCC candidates in Mashonaland West.
Insiders say it remains a mystery how Mutsau allegedly obtained the pair’s signatures, which he incorrectly attached to his nomination forms meant for a different pair of signatories.
Ralph Magunje, CCC’s interim provincial chairman, confirmed the party is taking action to bring Mutsau to justice for fraud. A complaint was filed with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and police, where one of the signatories made a statement to help build a case.
Murombedzi spent over three hours at the Chinhoyi Criminal Investigations Department last Friday, where she was questioned by police detectives.
CCC has identified around 20 cases of fraudulent registration of candidates under its banner, with some professedly unaware their names were submitted. CCC hopes ZEC will remove the fraudulent candidates from the final candidate list due on June 30.
Fraudulent double candidates emerged after nomination day across Zimbabwe, prompting criticism of CCC’s new candidate selection process.
Fadzayi Mahere, CCC spokesperson, said fraudulent candidates in constituencies including Mount Pleasant, Harare East and Bulawayo should be removed. She said “the signatures that appear on those forms are forged” and the candidate submissions are “a complete forgery, invalidity and nullity.”
CCC is taking action to ensure fraudulent candidates do not threaten the credibility of the party’s nominations.
