16/03/2016
REF: ZICOSU PRESS STATEMENT ON THE EXPULSION OF TONDERAI CHIDAWA AND TINASHE MASHAMBO FROM THE UNION
THE ZIMBABWE congress of students’ union (ZICOSU) National executive council endorses the expulsion of Mr Tonderai Chidawa, the former President of ZICOSU and his accomplice Mr Tinashe Mashambo from the Union. Their suspension has been necessitate by a plethora of several and proven malpractices in the conduct of Union business. We categorically state that the Harare Province and the University of Zimbabwe ZICOSU Branch from which Mashambo hailed from has recommended unanimously that Mashambo be recalled and expelled from the Union for failing to tour the unions as per section 40.5 of the constitution. The Mashonaland Provincial executive of ZICOSU and Bindura University ZICOSU Branch from which Mr Chidawa come from met yesterday and recommended unanimously, his expulsion from the Union for several counts of misconduct that shall be outlined below. The Union’s First Vice President Cde Madya will be acting President until a new President is ushered in at the Congress to be held before end of May 2016. Cde George Makonese Jnr from the University of Zimbabwe replaces the expelled Mashambo as the new Secretary General of the Union.
We are happy that finally, the Union through the historic heroic acts of the membership of the Union and the generality of its distinguished cadres have finally stood up to restore order and sanity in the Union following years of abuse by serial opportunists who have no clue about the vision and mission of the Union. Indeed, we are aware of the celebrations that are going on at institutions of higher learning, with the generality of the students finally breathing a sigh of relief following the expulsion of the duo, which has made headlines for all wrong reasons and embezzling Union funds.
The duo is guilty of the following:
1. They have been moving from one office to the other swindling unsuspecting civilian business people and politicians of their hard earned cash in the name of the Union and converting the resources to their own use which in perpetual violation of the section 3 of the constitution which now brings us to question the intentions behind.
2. Abusing the names of senior politicians in the Party ZANU-PF and government to threaten innocent civilians and soliciting favours.
3. Causing division among students and fanning factionalism through undermining elected SRC members of ZICOSU and in some instances, causing their suspension from the Union for no apparent reason as is the case in Midlands where threats were launched to some executive members to sabotage other Cdes. (testimonial of full happening available and evidence)
4. Abusing female students through using their positions in the Union to blackmail and expose them to indecent and unhealthy sexual shenanigans . Madzimai akakosha, we cannot ,we cannot, we cannot tolerate such devilish behaviour and we call upon proportional representation to take this as an issue of concern and we look forward to feedback.
5. Working with Opposition allied students Unions to eject ZICOSU members elected into SRCs at the University of Zimbabwe
6. Abusing material and financial resources that were released for the campaign of SRC elections at UZ (2015), Bindura (2015), Chinhoyi (2015), NUST (2015), MSU (2015), GZU (2015) and Africa University (2015). The duo covered the resources for these e elections campaigns to their own use resulting in ZICOSU losing all SRC elections in 2015 in an unprecedented manner. The duo will be called upon to account for their actions because ZICOSU is no longer present at colleges as we speak owing to these fortune seekers who gate crushed into the Union.
7. Gross incompetence and leadership failure. The two were never voted into power but were co-opted on an interim basis to organise an extra-ordinary Congress after the departure of the last elected President of the Union Cde Farai Mteliso. The Congress which had been scheduled to take place in 2014 is yet to take place and not even a single executive council meeting of the Union was held. This is an insult to the Union. The duo has failed to win a single SRC election where the Union has performed dismally.
8. Undermining and violating the Constitution of the Union through illegal suspensions of genuine cadres of the Union and unilaterally running the Union like a sole trader’s business where decisions are made improperly in the comfort of Musombodia without the participation and knowledge of elected NEC members.
9. Lying about their status as students. It was established that Tonderai Chidawa was enrolled at Bindura University as early as 2008 and has failed to finish his studies because of glaring and marauding intellectual incapabilities and academic inadequacies that are beyond redemption. He has since ceased to be a student while Mashambo’s has failed to demonstrate how he is a student after graduating last year for a degree in sociology. We want to make it unequivocal that ZICOSU is for students and not former students or failed academics who want to seek salvation in students Unionism in search of greener fortune pastures.
10. Failing to observe the students’ resolution that ZICOSU shall not participate in any factional battles in the PARTY ZANUPF but will always concentrate on its mandate of inculcating the revolutionary ideology at the colleges and maintaining unity among students through neutrality and non-alignment.
The Union has after getting sufficient evidence found the two guilty of all the offences raised above and shall be reported to the relevant authorities for corruption and theft of union resources. We further encourage those who had been threatened with unspecified action by the duo to freely and fearlessly come and supply any information that they could have withheld as the leadership of the Union will not leave any stone unturned to ensure that the Union is cleansed. As the leadership of the Union, we urge members of the public and our fellow ZANUPF politicians to desist from engaging or working with these boys since they are no longer members or leaders of the Union and any one conned or defrauded of their resources, ZICOSU will not be held accountable. The Union further warns Mashambo and Chidawa from ever engaging in any ZICOSU activities or cause discord against its partners and strategic stakeholders which behaviour will invite stern ac
