State Media|Zanu PF has accused Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni of Ntabazinduna of abusing his position to further the agenda of the opposition MDC challenging him to step down from the chieftaincy and join mainstream politics.

The ruling party accuses Ndiweni for calling on tougher sanctions to be imposed on Zimbabwe.

Angered by the Government’s decision to resettle an indigenous farmer at a property in Ntabazinduna previously occupied by a white family, Chief Ndiweni last week addressed a Press conference in Bulawayo and called for tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe.

Chief Ndiweni appealed to the international community to escalate sanctions on President Mnangagwa’s Government, claiming it has failed to pursue democracy.

Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial person Richard Moyo said they are aware of all Chief Ndiweni’s shenanigans.

“He must just join politics and leave the chieftaincy. He should come into mainstream politics by joining these political parties that he is aligned to or even form his own and we will show him how winning politics is played, he has no chance against Zanu-PF,” he said.

“In pursuit of a political agenda, he has chosen to advocate for the suffering of the people instead of working towards their development and unity. We know that initially he was running with secessionist movements like Mthwakazi and later we heard he was endorsing Chamisa despite his loss in the 2018 elections.”

Moyo called on traditional leaders to ignore Chief Ndiweni and continue working for the people.

“He has shown his true colours and his destructive politics and I don’t think any self respecting traditional leader who has their people at heart can follow such kind of behaviour. They should just ignore his attempts to divide the chiefs in the country,” he said.

In a statement on Sunday, the Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, said Chief Ndiweni’s utterances were inhumane and against our cultural beliefs.

‘‘Chief Ndiweni sentiments are deplorable, parochial and ignorant coming from a traditional leader,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s tragic that one of those constitutionally expected to uphold our customary values and community cohesion has chosen to not only be a controversial political player but to repeat a shameful familial history by calling for suffering to be visited upon the people of Zimbabwe.’’