BULAWAYO – A Zanu PF councillor whose ward covers central Bulawayo has been ousted from office following his conviction on fraud charges and the recommendations of an independent tribunal.
Local government minister Daniel Garwe, in a July 14 letter to Bulawayo town clerk Christopher Dube, said Josiah Mutangi of Ward 1 had been removed from office after an independent tribunal found him guilty of misconduct.
“I wish to inform you that I am in receipt of a determination from the independent tribunal which was held on 8-9 July 2026. Councillor Josiah Mutangi was found guilty of misconduct, and by operation of the law, he is hereby removed from office,” Garwe wrote.
Mutangi had been on suspension since May 28 after a court earlier this year convicted him on 14 counts of fraud, for which he was ordered to perform 490 hours of community service.
Mutangi was accused of soliciting and accepting money from street vendors in exchange for promising to allocate vending bays contrary to council policy and the law.
Garwe said Mutangi “demonstrated a recurring pattern of fraudulent behaviour” by exploiting “his position of trust for personal gain by issuing false promises and assurances to vendors.”
Mutangi “failed to adhere to established procedures for vendor allocation of bays” and “failed to declare conflicts of interests and breached the code of conduct,” the minister added.
The councillor’s removal triggers a by-election in one of the local authority’s most coveted wards.
Mutangi was elected councillor in December 2023 after the Citizens Coalition for Change party, which had won the ward in general elections held in August that year, was hijacked by self-styled secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu leading to the recall of eight councillors.
Five of the recalled CCC councillors were voted back into office in the by-elections that followed, but Zanu PF picked up three wards in the opposition stronghold, including ward 1 which has a large population of illegal street vendors who were threatened with removal if they do not back Zanu PF.
Mutangi polled 952 votes to Shepherd Sithole’s 655.
