Jonathan Moyo - Tsholotsho

Tsholotsho

Much philanthropy, including scholarship programs and support for sport over many years, has earned Moyo a place in Tsholotsho, his family area. This philanthropy increased during the days leading up to the March 2005 parliamentary election, a fact that critics feel made his win for the parliamentary seat in the area inevitable.

In the leadup to the 2004 party meeting, he held an unofficial meeting in Tsholotsho, of Zanu-PF political heavyweights including six provincial party chairmen, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, and a militant war veterans' leader, Joseph Chinotimba. It was aimed at contesting one of the two vice-presidential seats after the recent death of Simon Muzenda on 20 September 2003, seen as a stepping stone to the presidency in light of Mugabe's presumed retirement in 2008.

He was heavily censured at the later Zanu-PF meeting, with other attendees. Joyce Mujuru won the vice-presidency at the party meeting.

The subsequent decision to set aside the Tsholotsho seat in the 2005 parliamentary election for female candidates was widely interpreted as punishing those who organised the unauthorised meeting, and in particular Moyo.

In February 2005 Moyo registered to run as an independent for the seat. Doing so earned the wrath of Mugabe, who expelled him from the party and the cabinet. He won the seat in the elections, held on 31 March.

Moyo was re-elected to the House of Assembly from Tsholotsho North constituency in the March 2008 parliamentary election. He received 3,532 votes, defeating MDC candidate Mgezelwa Ncube, who received 3,305 votes, as well as Zanu-PF candidate Alice Dube, who received 2,085 votes.Themainstream MDC did not field a candidate in this constituency on the understanding that Moyo's victory would be good in the fight to remove Mugabe from power. No sooner had Moyo won did he start taking potshots at the MDC and openly defending and supporting Mugabe in newspaper articles. Some say he was angling for a cabinet position, something that did not happen. He was the first independent candidate in Zimbabwe to ever win re-election.