Blessing Chebundo Explained

Blessing Chebundo
Order:Member of Parliament
Office:Kwekwe Constituency
Term Start:2000
Predecessor:Emmerson Mnangagwa
Constituency:Kwekwe
Order1:Secretary
Office1:MDC Secretary for Health
Term Start1:2001
Term End1:2005
Order2:Member
Office2:National Executive Committee of the African National Congress
Term Start2:2006
Birth Date:1958 10, df=yes
Party:Movement for Democratic Change
Residence:Kwekwe
Website:http://www.mdc.co.zw
Footnotes:He belongs to the 'Tsvangirai MDC Faction'

Blessing Chebundo (born 8 October 1958) is a Zimbabwean politician, a member of parliament and a leading figure in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).[1] He rose to fame by defeating Emmerson Mnangagwa in a contest to represent Kwekwe constituency in the parliament of Zimbabwe in the 2000 parliamentary election.[2] [3] Mnangagwa, a heavyweight in ZANU-PF, was predicted to easily win the constituency, but Chebundo won the seat despite threats to his life.[4] As an incumbent, he again defeated Mnangagwa and was re-elected in the March 2005 parliamentary election.[2]

Background

Chebundo is a founder member of the Movement for Democratic Change, a political party that was formed in September 1999. He has represented Kwekwe constituency in the Parliament of Zimbabwe since the watershed elections of 2000. Before the formation of the MDC, Chebundo had been the vice-chairman of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) for the Central Region; he was also national treasurer of the Zimbabwe Chemical & Allied Workers Union from 1990 to 2000. He served as the MDC's secretary of health from 2001 to 2005 and has been a member of its National Executive Committee since 2006.[1]

MDC split

Chebundo initially joined the 'rebels', led by Welshman Ncube, that broke away from the MDC. However, Chebundo eventually rejoined the main MDC, citing the wishes of the members of his constituency in Kwekwe.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.mdc.co.zw/parliament-BlessingChebundo.asp Profile at MDC website
  2. Lebo Nkatazo, "After 2 defeats, Mnangagwa opts for rural constituency"Web site: After 2 defeats, Mnangagwa opts for rural constituency . 2008-02-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080208120758/http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/mnanga12.17704.html . 8 February 2008 . (Retrieved 11 February 2008)
  3. Mugabe Cabinet Crisis Web site: Zimbabwe news . 2008-02-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080611235307/http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/2julb.html . 11 June 2008 . (Retrieved 11 February 2008)
  4. Terror Tactics Web site: Zimbabwe: Terror tactics in the run-up to parliamentary elections, June 2000 – Amnesty International . 2008-02-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081210211542/http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460142000?open&of=ENG-ZWE . 10 December 2008 . (Retrieved 11 February 2008)
  5. Mutambara Faction hit by defections https://archive.today/20110522104530/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-04/2006-04-11-voa66.cfm(Retrieved 11 February 2008)