ZANU PF Candidate Defeated In By-election Despite Dishing Out Free Meat
The ZANU PF candidate for Chinhoyi Ward 3 in the recently-held by-elections, Precious Dadirai Makiwa, has become a butt of jokes in the town after she lost despite killing a cow and donating the meat to residents in a bid to lure them to vote for her.
Makiwa bought the cow which she slaughtered and invited residents to get free meat, with each resident getting a 2kgs packet of beef.
Residents who spoke to New Zimbabwe confirmed the development, saying there was a stampede as mostly women flocked Makiwa’s family home to get the free meat.
In spite of her “generosity”, Makiwa polled 330 votes against her rival Richard Vhitirinyu, who got 513 standing as a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate.
Vhitirinyu, who was recalled by the MDC-T on 4 November 2020, was declared the duly elected councillor for Chinhoyi Ward 3.
Speaking to New Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Vhitirinyu said the ruling ZANU PF party should understand that people want tangible development rather than freebies. He said:
The electorate is no longer as gullible as before. Yes, Makiwa slaughtered a whole cow whose meat she distributed to many households in the hope they would vote for her.
Through her party, she also donated textbooks, but all this counted for nothing after she lost. People don’t want freebies, they need real transformational change in their lives.
Meanwhile, CCC won five out of the six Local Authority by-elections in Chinhoyi.
In Ward 4, ZANU PF’s Ignatius Zvigadza obtained 718 votes to beat CCC interim district chairman Brighton Mhizha who garnered 569 votes.