Former prosecutor forms political party

By Lance Guma
14 December 2007

The former area public prosecutor for Mutare, Levison Chikafu, has formed a new political party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Chikafu was hounded out of his job by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa after he pursued both Chinamasa and State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa in a case last year. Chikafu spent a week in remand prison in Mutare after the state ordered his arrest on trumped up corruption and theft charges.

Three months before harmonized presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008, the former prosecutor has decided to enter politics and contest as a candidate. Soon after the launch of his party Chikafu promised to use radical means to stop Robert Mugabe from serving another term in office. He has so far not given details of the other individuals involved in his party. Other press reports quote him saying, ‘the country cannot afford to have Mugabe in office again. We have to stop this man from continuing to destroy our country.’

Chikafu rose to prominence after accusing Chinamasa of interfering with witnesses in a trial involving Mutasa, whose supporters unleashed an orgy of violence in the Makoni East constituency. He went further to attract the wrath of senior government officials by demanding that CIO operative Joseph Mwale face trial for the murder of MDC activists Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya in the run up to the 2000 parliamentary election.

Meanwhile the charges against Chikafu fell apart last month, resulting in his acquittal. The Attorney General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, who himself went on to be arrested on trumped up charges, lifted the suspension on Chikafu to allow him back to work as a prosecutor. The Justice Ministry predictably intervened to block this move, citing the same charges already thrown out by the courts. It remains to be seen if Chikafu can make the transition into politics, given his inexperience.

Political commentator Msekiwa Makwanya however says Chikafu is making a big mistake by forming a political party to deal with his personal frustrations. ‘Political parties should be there at the service of the people and not individuals,’ he argued. He said it looked as if the former prosecutor was just switching professions and looking at an alternative source of income. ‘His party is just going to confuse people,’ Makwanya said.