By Paul Nyathi|Former Kwekwe Central legislator Masango Matambanadzo affectionately known as “Blackman” partly due to his dark complexion, says that he is more than happy to be dismissed from the ruling ZANU PF and subsequent ejection from Parliament.

Matambanadzo opened up to weekend media following his dismissal from the party through a politburo decision last week.

The Kwekwe strongman reportedly shook President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF by organising a massive rally for the former President Robert Mugabe backed National Patriotic Front (NPF) in his former constituency of Kwekwe Central.

Several thousands of people turned up for the opposition rally in Mnangagwa’s own backyard — thanks to Matambanadzo’s popularity in the city.

Matambanadzo said that he was very happy to be fired from Zanu PF because he had gone through a lot of hell in the years that he had been in the party.

“When I heard that the Zanu PF politburo had made the decision to fire me, I was very elated because I had been tormented by the party. I felt like someone that had been released from a filthy jail because they used to treat me as if I was a smelly person,” Matambanadzo said.

“Since 2013 when I was elected MP up to the time that I was fired, President Emmerson Mnangagwa made sure that I was removed from Zanu PF party structures until I became an ordinary card-carrying member. It got to the extent that recently during the primary elections, my curriculum vitae was removed so that I could not contest.

“During my tenure as MP, I suffered a lot and I was barred from attending some events in Midlands, and whenever Cabinet ministers came to Kwekwe to officiate at company occasions, I was ordered not to attend.”

Matambanadzo alleged Mnangagwa had always wanted his relative, Cornelius Mupereri, to be Kwekwe Central MP instead of him. And, when he beat Mupereri during the party primary elections years ago, Mnangagwa allegedly began to treat him badly.

“I was always victimised for that to the extent that I was even barred from conducting meetings with councillors in Kwekwe. It was so bad that I was often arraigned before the courts on spurious allegations like that I had insulted a top official. I would be jailed for five to six days, and with such situations, why shouldn’t I be happy for being fired from Zanu PF?”

Matambanadzo said due to his ill-treatment in Zanu PF, he had no choice but to make a decision to cross over to the National Patriotic Front (NPF) led by former Mashonaland East provincial affairs minister Ambrose Mutinhiri. NPF is strongly linked to Mugabe, who was ousted by the military in November last year.

He said due to the nasty ordeals he encountered with Mnangagwa while in Zanu PF, he had no reason to wish him well in the forthcoming elections.

“If Mugabe was not removed in an undignified manner like what happened, Zanu PF was going to win the elections, but now there are serious question marks about their victory. Given the rough treatment that I got in Zanu PF and the way they removed me, why should I wish for Mnangagwa to win? In fact,I learnt through the grapevine that Mnangagwa personally ordered that I be fired from the party,” he said.