Mguni Elected Bulawayo Mayor

COUNCIL CHAMBERS - Bulawayo’s Ward 23 Councillor, Solomon Mguni, has been elected the new mayor for Zimbabwe’s second largest city after garnering 17 votes, beating his contender Norman Hlabano of Ward 26, who polled 12 votes during the elections held at the Council Chambers Friday.

The new mayor to lead Bulawayo for the next five years takes over from Martin Moyo, whose term expired in July following the holding of harmonised polls.

Mguni will be deputised by Ward 3 Councillor, Tinashe Kambarami, who beat Councillor Mlandu Ncube of Ward 1, garnering 16 votes against the latter’s 13.

The election in which all the 29 councillors elected in the July 30 elections participated, was presided over by Bulawayo Provincial Administrator, Khonzani Ncube.

There was tight security at the venue following Tuesday’s aborted ceremony over the matter of the illegality of the venue – Large City Hall - which had been chosen in order to allow members of the public to follow proceedings live.

On Friday, residents still followed the proceeding from the same venue where a feed was provided through live streaming.

In his acceptance speech, Mguni, a lawyer by profession, promised to work hard to for the good of all Bulawayo residents.

He said that during his term as mayor, there would be no room for tribalism in a cosmopolitan city like Bulawayo adding housing provision would be one of his top priorities.

The mayor said he would work with all the stakeholders to ensure Bulawayo moves forward with development.

Mguni was born on September 7 in 1983 in Gwatemba, Filabusi, Matabeleland South, and grew up in Gokwe in the Midlands.

He went to Mhali Primary school in Bulawayo and then went to Gloag High School before proceeding to the University of Zimbabwe to study law.

He is a managing partner at Dube-Mguni-Dube Legal Practitioners in Bulawayo.