Political returnee Mashayamombe’s HCC lease under the microscope

Harare- FORMER Harare South legislator,Shadreck Mashayamombe who returned home last year after a four year self imposed exile in South Africa is at loggerheads with some of his tenants, Express Mail Zim has learnt.

Information gathered by Express Mail Zim established that Mashayamombe has a long lease with Harare City Council wherein he reportedly pays a meagre ZWL56 000 per month and charges his tenants at least US$450 per month .

At parallel market rate , the amount is less than US$20.

The complex in question is located along Luck Street in Harare central business district and Mashayamombe recently evicted a tenant who was operating a butchery and he took over.

“Shaddy (Mashayamombe) forcibly or rather illegally evicted a guy (name supplied) who was operating a butchery at his premises after he realized that he was making a killing and mega profits from the business.

“He then took over and is now operating the butchery enterprise,” said our source who is a former employee of the evicted butchery operator.

The politician who is suffering from colon cancer is said to be failing to fit properly in the society after his return- according to his close associates.

Research carried out by Express Mil Zim revealed that returnees experience challenges to their identity not only during transit and upon arrival at their destination, but also during the process of returning and re-adapting to their communities of origin.

“When a migrant returns to his or her country of origin, the reintegration process will be determined by factors such as the length of time spent abroad, the amount of time the migrant had initially intended to be away, the extent to which the migrant retained his or her connections to family and social networks in the country of origin, the extent to which the migrant had integrated in the host country, and other more structural factors such as adequate housing and safe employment. Many other factors like these affect the reintegration process upon return to the country of origin,” according to International Immigration Organisation.

Mashayamombe’s political career is riddled with fickleness which qualifies him as a ‘political prostitute’.

In the 2018 general elections he contested as an MDC Alliance candidate and was walloped by Tongai Mnangagwa in Harare South, an area where he played an integral role in the development of Ushewekunze residential area.

He also owns several stands and a magnificent house in the residential area.

Before jumping ship to MDC Alliance and subsequently quitting active politics,Mashayamombe was a pivotal member of the G40 faction of the ruling Zanu PF party that coalesced around former First Lady Grace Mugabe whose mantra was “Munhu wese kunaAmai”.

At the Harare City Council owned complex, Mashayamombe’s tenants have diverse enterprises including a thriving liqour store, printing services and a fast food outlet.

At the peak of his active political career,Mashayamombe was famed for being outspoken and a revered motormouth.

Tables however turned when he joined the “wrong basket” and he wept like a baby while narrating how he claimed to have lost US$50 000 by army assailants before a commission of inquiry into the August 1 ,2018 shootings led by former South African president Kgalema Mohlante.

Mashayamombe cold not be reached for comment at the time of writing ,while the HCC spokesperson Innocent Ruwende was not also available to explain the circumstances and criterion used to award long leases to residents