A Zanu PF activist, who is challenging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s legitimacy as leader of the ruling party, says his house in Harare was petrol-bombed Saturday night by suspected state security agents.
Sybeth Musengezi told VOA Zimbabwe Service that nobody was hurt in an inferno, which was caused by a suspected petrol bomb that rocked his house and destroyed a vehicle and property worth thousands of dollars.
“I suspect that my house was petrol-bombed. Police are investigating the case right now at my house. They are here,” said Musengezi.
In a series of tweets with photos showing charred remains of his belongings and burnt vehicle, he said, "This is what they have done. Thanks to the neighbourhood ‘vadzodzima moyo nema’ (estinguished it using) buckets. We managed to get out.”
Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, was unreachable for comment as he was not responding to calls on his mobile phone.
Musengezi recently filed another High Court application seeking an order to block the forthcoming Zanu PF congress.
In his application, he said the Congress cannot go ahead as there is a pending High Court case in which he is challenging Mnangagwa’s rise to the top post of the ruling party following a defacto military coup in 2017.
This case is expected to be held within the next two weeks.
In the first court case, Musengezi argues that Mnangagwa unconstitutionally landed the post of first secretary of the ruling party following the toppling of the late former President Robert Mugabe.
He argues that all the current top Zanu PF officials, including administration secretary Obert Mpofu who was part of a group of people that catapulted Mnangagwa to power, were improperly installed.
As a result, he says they are not fit to call for an elective Congress of the ruling party.
Zanu PF has dismissed Musengezi’s application as a non event, noting that he is not a legitimate member of the party. But Musengezi has produced evidence that he is a card-carrying member of Zanu PF.
He was arrested on fraud charges which were thrown out of the court.