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Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe Media Commission chairperson Mr Godfrey Majonga will tomorrow be among more than 40 candidates to contest for a seat reserved for people living with disabilities in the Senate. The Senate has two seats reserved for those living with disabilities, with one being for a female and the other being for a male.

Mr Majonga’s profile is likely to give him the edge over the other candidates who include Mr Obadiah Moyo of the National Council for the Disabled, businessman Edward Mundanga and Mr Lewis Garabha.

Apart from being the ZMC chairperson, Mr Majonga has a strong curriculum vitae as a former popular television personality.
He is also the deputy director of the Danhiko Trust and has been involved in philanthropy through raising funds for institutions such as Copota School of the Blind in Masvingo.

Mr Majonga has been chairperson of the Danhiko Paralympic Games since 1996, with the games bringing together thousands of people living with disabilities from all over the country. The games have since grown to include people living with disabilities from the region.

Mr Majonga has teamed up with eye specialist Dr Solomon Guramatunhu, Mimosa managing director Mr Winston Chitando, JSM Capital chairman Mr Joe Mutizwa, Pungwe Mining managing director Mr Lionel Mhlanga, eye specialist Dr Archie Kufa and The Sunday Mail deputy editor Nomsa Nkala to form Tariro Hope Ithemba Trust.

The Trust has been assisting institutions that cater for the disabled and has made frequent visits to places such as the Copota School of the Blind in Masvingo where they uplifted the school by providing funds and other necessities.

The Trust is initiating other projects for the disabled in areas such as Mutare. The disability quota is one of the fresh measures that have come into effect in the new Constitution.

The election, which is going to be held in Harare, is likely to be intriguing, owing to the number of aspiring candidates. ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said on Monday that the poll for the disabled would be held by an electoral college in Harare.

“Elections for the two senators to represent persons living with disabilities will be conducted within an electoral college that shall be constituted in a fashion provided for in the Electoral Act,” she said.

Chairperson of the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) Mr Ishmael Zhou said the senatorial posts generated keen interest from the disabled.

He said about 100 delegates drawn from organisations that support people living with disabilities would converge on Harare today in preparation for tomorrow’s vote.