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George Maponga-Masvingo Bureau

Former Zanu PF Chivi South legislator and philanthropist Mr Killer Zivhu has ruled out standing as an independent candidate in the forthcoming parliamentary by-election, saying he will remain loyal to the ruling Zanu PF party.

This comes after President Mnangagwa indicated that all the outstanding parliamentary and council by-elections will be held in the first quarter of next year.

Mr Zivhu was last year expelled from Zanu PF for abusing social media and automatically lost his position as the party’s legislator for Chivi South.

The parliamentary seat is vacant, with the by-election now set to be held after all such outstanding elections were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Zanu PF has since chosen businessman Cde Munyaradzi Zizhou as its candidate in the Chivi South parliamentary by-election.

Mr Zivhu thanked the people for voting him in 2018 and for the help he got from them when he embarking on various projects during his time as the MP.

“I grew up in Zanu PF and I was a councillor in 2000 until 2017, I was being taught in Zanu PF,” he said. 

“While I grew up in Zanu PF, there were a lot of elders guiding me. 

“I am also a child of the party, so I am not going to stand as an independent candidate despite some of you pushing me to. 

“You do not change your surname because your father has chased you away from home. You reflect on why the father took such an action and you come back when the time is ripe.

“I am still young and I hope that one day I will be able to bounce back in the same party, Zanu PF. But for this by-election, I cannot stand against the party which groomed me.” 

Mr Zivhu said he will always be indebted to Zanu PF and will never contest against a candidate from the “only political party he has known in his life” adding that he “remained a child of the party”.

The philanthropist vowed to continue working with the people of Chivi South to help attain President Mnangagwa’s vision of making Zimbabwe an upper middle income economy by 2030.

He promised to back and support Cde Zizhou for Zanu PF to retain the parliamentary seat.