Ray Nkosi | Five Matabeleland South top leaders of the Joice Mujuru led Zimbabwe People First Party, on Saturday night survived several murder attempts at the hands of suspected ZANU PF elements along the Victoria Falls highway, on their way to Bulawayo from a party rally.

They were stone-bombed by suspected CIO moles, as they were heading back home.

Speaking to ZimEye.com in an interview this morning, Matabeleland South party Provincial Chairman Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo said that they were attacked by stone throwing people on at least two distinct occasions along the highway in both cases the attempts being to force the vehicle off the road to create a road accident.

Fuzwayo said that he was driving in the company of his provincial party wing chairpersons Themba Ndlovu of the Freedom Fighters Wing, Anele Munyandu of the Women’s Wing, David Ndlovu of the Youth Wing and former Matabeleland North Provincial Chairman Maxwell Mkandla when it all occurred.

In his narration Fuzwayo said that they left Binga late afternoon after party President Joice Mujuru addressed a youth rally at Siyachilaba Business Centre. Along the way they realised that there was a silver gray Nissan Hardboy double cab vehicle that appeared to have been following them.

At Lupane centre they stopped for refueling and the same vehicle also stopped and left just about the same time with them.

“Some 20km out of Lupane the vehicle overtook us and we noted that there were four occupants at the back of the car and the car had no rear number plates.”

“Some ten minutes after they overtook us as we approached a small stream a stone was thrown at us and it missed the front windscreen and hit the roof of the car just above the windscreen,” said Fuzwayo.

“We could not stop as it was dark and we initially suspected the act to be an attempt to hijack us. We however got suspicious when a little later the same Nissan Hardbody vehicle overtook us while we had not overtook it anywhere after they passed us.”

“About half an hour later just before Insiza we were attacked again this time with a huge stone hitting our vehicle on the front windscreen and I nearly lost control of the vehicle also nearly plunging into a stream”
He said he however luckily managed to bring the vehicle back under control.”

Fuzwayo dismissed possibilities that the attacks could have been from criminal elements claiming that they have every reason to suspect the attack to have been acts of political violence and were being executed by the occupants of the silver grey Nissan vehicle.

“There is no way normal criminal elements would follow us twice to execute their plan. One would expect such elements to be at one point and can’t be a coincidence to have two hijacking elements within 80km of each other of the same vehicle,” said Fuzwayo. “If that’s the case then that Victoria Falls road is a hijacking war zone” he added.

“There is clear suspect hand of state security involvement judging with the precision in the execution of the plan as they would choose a spot a few meters before a stream so that when you lose control of the vehicle you would straight away fall into the stream,” said Fuzwayo.

Several political figures in the country have died in similar suspicious road accidents. Fuzwayo said they reported the incident to police in Insuza who are yet to update them on the progress of the investigations.