Bulawayo Ward 1 Councillor Josiah Mutangi of ZANU PF has been removed from office after an independent tribunal found him guilty of misconduct.
The removal has created a vacancy in the ward which will be filled through a by-election.
The Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, announced the decision in a letter dated 14 July 2026, saying Mutangi’s removal took effect following the tribunal’s determination.
“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 28 May after a court convicted him on 14 counts of fraud earlier this year and ordered him to complete 490 hours of community service.
He was accused of soliciting and accepting money from street vendors after promising to allocate them vending bays, contrary to council policy and the law.
A Bulawayo magistrate found him and his co-accused, Janet Zhou, guilty of defrauding 13 vendors after falsely promising them bays in the city centre in exchange for money.
The court ordered both to perform community service, with Mutangi also ordered to pay US$200 in restitution to each of the 13 victims.
Garwe said Mutangi had demonstrated “a recurring pattern of fraudulent behaviour” by exploiting his position of trust for personal gain.
He said the councillor had failed to follow established procedures for the allocation of vending bays, failed to declare conflicts of interest and breached the code of conduct.
Mutangi was elected in December 2023 after the August general election winner, Citizens Coalition for Change candidate Shepherd Sithole, was recalled along with seven other councillors by self-styled CCC secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu.
Five of the recalled councillors were voted back in the subsequent by-elections, but ZANU PF picked up three wards in the opposition stronghold, including Ward 1, which has a large population of informal street vendors. Mutangi polled 952 votes to Sithole’s 655.
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