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Zimbabwean politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilson Tarugarira Khumbula | |
---|---|
Member of the Zimbabwe House of Assembly for Chipinge North | |
In office 1995 –2000 | |
Preceded by | Gordon Mushakavanhu |
Succeeded by | Messias Matewu |
Member of the Zimbabwe House of Assembly for Chipinge South | |
In office 2000 –2005 | |
Preceded by | Ndabaningi Sithole |
Succeeded by | Enock Porusingazi |
Personal details | |
Born | Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe | October 12, 1937
Political party | ZANU-PF (2015—present) ZANU Ndonga (1960s—2015) |
Residence(s) | Chipinge, Manicaland, Zimbabwe |
Profession | Politician, businessman |
Wilson Khumbula, also known as Kujokochera,[1] is a Zimbabwean politician and businessman.[2] He is a former leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Ndonga (ZANU-Ndonga), and arguably dissolved the faction in 2015, 2018, and 2021 to join ZANU-PF.[3][4][5] He was one of the early members of ZANU-Ndonga, which formed in 1963 under Ndabaningi Sithole.[3]
Khumbula is from Checheche Growth Point in the Chipinge South area of Manicaland, Zimbabwe.[2]
During the Rhodesian Bush War, Khumbula worked with Maurice Nyagumbo to recruit soldiers to fight for liberation.[3] He was arrested in 1975 and was sentenced to ten years at Harare Central Prison before being released in 1978 due to the signing of the Internal Settlement.[3] He was arrested again later that year and sentenced to six years at Chikurubi Prison until the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979.[3] At some point, he was also tortured and incarcerated at Hwahwa Prison in Gweru.[6] After the war, he remained active in ZANU-Ndonga alongside party leader Ndabaningi Sithole.[3]
In the 1995 Zimbabwean parliamentary election, Khumbula was elected as the Zimbabwe House of Assembly representative for Chipinge North alongside Ndonga leader Ndabaningi Sithole, who represented Chipinge South.[7] Ndonga was the only opposition party represented in the 1995 parliament.[7] Khumbula won the only House seat for Ndonga in the 2000 parliamentary election and subsequently ran for president in 2002, where he received less than 1% of the vote.[8] Khumbula lost his House seat in 2005[7] and his bid in the 2013 election.[3] In 2018, he sought to represent Chipinge South as a member of ZANU-PF, but lost to Enock Porusingazi.[9][1]
He supported ZANU–PF presidential candidate Simba Makoni in the 2008 Zimbabwean general election.[7]
Khumbula took over as president of ZANU-Ndonga following the death of Sithole in 2000.[6][7][3] In 2018, Denford Musiyariri claimed that Khumbula had been expelled from the party in 2005 and replaced with Rev. Dr. Fred J. Gomendo.[4] He was later reinstated and served as president until 2015, when he left to join ZANU-PF and Musiyariri himself took over as president.[10][4][11][12] Musiyariri joined the MDC Alliance ahead of the 2018 election to oppose ZANU-PF.[13] As of 2021, Khumbula and Musiyariri are each referred to as the ZANU-Ndonga president across different sources.[14][15]
Despite repeated assertions that he is not interested in joining a coalition,[3][4] Khumbula has joined, un-joined, and rejoined ZANU-PF over the years, often declaring the move on behalf of the party; in 2015 and 2018, Khumbula called upon ZANU-Ndonga members to identify as and vote for ZANU-PF in the 2018 Zimbabwean general election.[6][16][10] Critics of Khumbula, particularly those within ZANU-Ndonga, have accused him of joining ZANU-PF for his own gain.[17] In April 2021, Khumbula and representatives from NPF, MDC-A, and MDC agreed to dissolve their political parties to join the ZANU-PF ahead of the 2023 Zimbabwean presidential election.[18][19] ZANU-PF leader Patrick Chinamasa praised Khumbula for this action and said it helped unite the people of Chipinge.[14]
Khumbula owns Zineku Beerhall, which rivals another establishment owned by ZANU-PF MP Enock Porusingazi, in Checheche.[1] He uses the beerhall as a gathering place for ZANU-Ndonga supporters and strongly emphasizes the importance of Muchongoyo in bringing party members together.[1] He also owns or has owned a restaurant, two gas stations, Kujo Superstar Hotel and Casino, a night club, grinding mills, and a construction company focused on developing housing and shopping in rural Checheche.[2] He has a major financial hand in the Division Two football team the Zineku Stars.[20] Khumbula received the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 for his work as a businessman in rural Checheche.[21]
One of his children, Kudakwashe Khumbula, is a politician representing the Zimbabwe Partnership for Prosperity.[22] His nephew is Enock Porusingazi, the ZANU-PF-aligned politician who defeated Khumbula twice for House seats.[23][2]
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