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Karikoga Kaseke

Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke and his wife Betty yesterday allegedly hired kombis to ferry people from Harare and Mashonaland East back to their homes in an attempt to prevent them from attending the First Lady’s meeting with war veterans at her children’s home in Mazowe.
A number of war veterans failed to attend the meeting yesterday due to transport problems.

Sources in Zanu-PF Harare Province said Mr Kaseke and his wife and some youths from Harare Province were at Fourth Street bus terminus in the morning diverting people from travelling to Mazowe.

“They hired about 30 kombis and were telling people who were waiting to be ferried to Mazowe that there was nothing going on at the Children’s Home so they could return to their homes,” said a source.

“Some of the Zupco buses that had been hired to ferry people to Mazowe also left empty after the drivers were told that there was no meeting that would take place at the children’s home.”

Although the meeting was attended by thousands of people from across the country, some war veterans from Matabeleland provinces also failed to attend because of transport problems.

In his speech during the meeting, Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association secretary general Cde Shadreck Makombe acknowledged that some war veterans had failed to come because of transport problems.

“We know that some have failed to come because the buses were inadequate and that some even used their resources to come here,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from the Kasekes were fruitless last night as they were not picking up their phones. Mr Kaseke and his wife attended yesterday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Paul Chimedza allegedly called a relative of Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga and told her that the First Lady had said her husband was a sell out in the 1970s. The First Lady, HOWEVER, never said so.

Contacted for comment, Dr Chimedza said: “I didn’t phone her and I was not at the meeting. Don’t put me into your politics.’’

Sources who attended the Mazowe rally said indeed Dr Chimedza was not there, which made his case even more bizarre.