MDC-T councillor arrested over ‘Mugabe must go’ graffiti

GWERU Urban ward 11 councillor, Albert Chirau, was arrested last Friday on allegations of splashing anti-President Robert Mugabe graffiti at council buildings last week.

GWERU Urban ward 11 councillor, Albert Chirau, was arrested last Friday on allegations of splashing anti-President Robert Mugabe graffiti at council buildings last week.

By Stephen Chadenga

Chirau, who is also finance committee chairperson, was briefly detained and quizzed by detectives at Gweru Central Police Station and later released without charge.

The main opposition MDC-T councillor confirmed the development yesterday, but denied involvement in the spraying of graffiti.

“It’s true myself, councillors Moses Marecha (ward 5) and Tawanda Magidi (ward 16) were held hostage by the workers’ committee when we were about to hold our meeting at the council offices on Workers’ Day,” Chirau said.

“The workers’ representatives who call themselves Boko Haram then phoned police and I was picked up and questioned before being released. I wonder if this is the way police now operate, but I believe the issue has turned political.”

However, Gweru City Council workers’ committee organising secretary Simbarashe Leboho yesterday insisted that councillors were responsible for the anti-Mugabe messages, one of which read: “To Save Council, Mugabe Must Go”.

Acting Midlands provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende could not be reached for comment as she was reportedly out of office.