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George Maponga Masvingo Bureau
Zanu-PF has turned down an application by former Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Gutu South legislator Dr Paul Chimedza to rejoin the party following his expulsion in December 2017.

Dr Chimedza, who is also an ex-Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, was expelled from the party  for being part of a cabal bent on creating instability in the country, taking advantage of their proximity to former President Mr Robert Mugabe.

Other senior party heavyweights from Masvingo who were in Zanu-PF and fell by the wayside together with Dr Chimedza were former Masvingo Urban legislator Dr Daniel Shumba and ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi.

Dr Chimedza, who became the shortest-serving Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister after being elbowed out of office barely a month after his appointment, recently applied to the ruling party provincial leadership seeking re-admission.

Ruling party Masvingo provincial spokesperson Cde Ronald Ndaba yesterday said Dr Chimedza would remain in the shadows for a while after his application to rejoin Zanu-PF was rejected.

“Dr Chimedza applied to the Zanu-PF Masvingo leadership for re-admission and we recommended to the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) that his re-admission into the party be stayed in the meantime while we continue to take a close look at him and his activities,” he said.

“So, for now he (Dr Chimedza) will remain on the sidelines because the NDC upheld our recommendation.”

Cde Ndaba said it was not all gloom and doom for the former Gutu South legislator’s efforts to rekindle his romance with Zanu-PF.

“It was felt that it was too early to re-admit him without looking at him closely,” he said.

“So, we will continue to see how he relates with the party here in Masvingo.

“While there is no time frame on how long he will remain expelled, I am quite sure that it won’t be long before his case is looked at again with a view to re-admit him.

“I hope in the not-too-distant future he (Dr Chimedza) will be re-admitted after a close look at some issues.”