By Kudakwashe Kutinyo
VICTORIA FALLS – Chaos erupted in the Victoria Falls City Council chambers last Thursday when three recalled Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors refused to vacate their seats, culminating in a tense standoff, property damage, and a swift police intervention.
The full council meeting descended into bedlam during its 64th ordinary session after the Town Clerk read aloud a formal recall letter delivered by Sengezo Tshabangu, the secretary-general of the Citizens Coalition for Change. The directive ordered the immediate removal of Mthunzi Mpofu (Ward 9), Nkanyiso Sibindi (Ward 10), and Daniel Moyo (Ward 11).
Proceedings collapsed entirely when Councillor Sibindi reportedly climbed onto a council table, smashed a local authority laptop, and aggressively threatened to assault both the Town Clerk and the Mayor.
Officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) moved in swiftly to contain the situation, arresting Sibindi on the spot. When the remaining two recalled officials defied direct orders to step down, police forcefully escorted all three men from the municipal building. Municipal business was immediately disrupted and the meeting adjourned sine die.
Councillor Sibindi has since appeared in court charged with malicious damage to property for allegedly destroying the council laptop. He was granted US$300 bail.
The dramatic ouster of the three ward representatives has triggered a wider institutional crisis, leaving the city’s top leadership hanging by a thread. Mayor Prince Thuso Moyo and Deputy Mayor Lungile Nyoni are now facing separate, bruising votes of no confidence after 12 councillors signed a petition demanding their immediate removal.
Deputy Mayor Lungile Nyoni is accused of unilaterally suspending the Town Clerk in December 2024, a move that allegedly resulted in salary losses and a US$2,000 investigation fee. Furthermore, Nyoni faces serious allegations of improperly taking money from local residents in exchange for land allocations.
Mayor Prince Thuso Moyo is ccused of withdrawing official travel allowances but failing to perform the associated duties. The matter has been formally reported to the police under Reference RRB 6668771. Fellow councillors claim the Mayor routinely skips committee meetings and provides no feedback on taxpayer-funded trips.
Both motions explicitly demand the removal of the civic leaders and the calling of fresh internal elections.
The dramatic scenes in Victoria Falls are the latest flashpoint in a broader, highly contentious saga gripping Zimbabwe’s local authorities.
Since the country’s 2023 harmonised elections, CCC secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu has instigated a series of recalls from both parliament and local governance. Similar recalls have hit several municipalities nationwide this year, leaving urban councils fractured and unstable.
With Victoria Falls Council now deeply divided, anxious residents are watching the fallout closely, fearing that vital service delivery in Zimbabwe’s premier tourism hub will grind to a halt amidst the ongoing political warfare.
