Zanu PF Central Committee member, Luckmore Tinashe Gapa, faces expulsion for snatching Doug Coltart’s phone, says Chinamasa

Zanu PF Treasurer-General, Patrick Chinamasa, has warned that Central Committee member Luckmore Tinashe Gapa will face disciplinary action if found guilty of robbing human rights lawyer Douglas Coltart of his cellphone at Harare’s City Sports Centre last week.

Photos and videos circulating widely on social media appear to show a man, alleged to be Gapa, grabbing Coltart’s phone during a public hearing on the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3.

In a lengthy statement posted on X, Chinamasa said the allegation against Gapa is serious and damages the public image of Zanu PF.

Chinamasa said: “I cannot conclude this piece without commenting on the allegation made against Zanupf Central Committee member, Cde Luckmore Tinashe Gapa, that he snatched lawyer Doug Coltart’s cellphone, and that this was caught on camera.

“This allegation is serious and highly defamatory against Cde Gapa, and causes reputational damage to the public image of Zanupf as an ideologically sound revolutionary party.

“Media reports that Doug Coltart has filed crime charges against Cde Luckmore Tinashe Gapa, a member of the Zanupf Central Committee, with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), are understandable – well and good.

“If the Doug Coltart allegations are proven true in a court of law, this will constitute damning evidence against the Zanupf Central Committee member involved, Cde Luckmore Tinashe Gapa, and, as a consequence, he would not escape disciplinary charges against him by Zanupf.

“Cde Gapa, if convicted, stands to be hauled before the Zanupf National Disciplinary Committee, chaired by our National Chairman, Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, to answer to the charges.

“If convicted, Cde Luckmore Tinashe Gapa will not have a place of honour in the Zanupf Central Committee.

“You see, the Zanupf Central Committee is the highest organ of Zanupf between Congresses, and is made up of people of high integrity and probity.

“It will not have room for someone convicted of snatching or stealing cellphones from members of the public, even if the victims are members of the opposition.” *_-Pindula_*