Sydney Mubaiwa
MIDLANDS BUREAU CHIEF

GWERU-In a show of unity, peace and unparalleled leadership, all three Gweru Urban Constituency parliamentary candidates joined hands and donated a wheelchair to Nigel Tahwa (26), a humanitarian and advocacy worker. 
Tahwa had appealed for a new wheelchair through The Mirror helpline. The donation was handed over on Friday last week at Gweru Memorial Library. He is a disability champion and executive director of Lets Make A Difference Disability Zimbabwe (LMDDZ).
The three candidates are Alex Mukwembi (Zanu PF), Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) Josiah Makombe and MDC-T incumbent legislator Brian Dube.
Tahwa was born with cerebral palsy. He was now facing mobility challenges after his wheelchair got worn out.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) led the donation initiative. Its director, Conilia Selipiwe, said the coming together of candidates to assist Tahwa resembles peace, love and unity among political players in Gweru.
She said they created a WhatsApp group and added all Gweru Urban constituency candidates who contributed towards the project.  
“We are gathered here to witness the handover ceremony of a new wheelchair to Nigel Tahwa after we received his appeal through newspapers. As GRRA, we saw it fit for us to bring the community together and make contributions towards the purchasing of a new wheelchair. Looking at the contributions they made, it shows the level of political maturity and unity which is prevailing among our political parties in Gweru,” he said. 
Thandiwe Kambara, Mukwembi’s campaign manager, said their party slogan: ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’ pushed us to contribute.
“On behalf of the Zanu-PF Gweru Urban aspiring MP, we saw it prudent to donate towards Nigel’s welfare so that he can move well and access his polling station without any constraints,” she said. 
Gweru City Ward 3 Councillor Doubt Ncube, who represented Makombe, said they put citizens first. 
“As a political party, we put citizens first and after hearing Nigel’s plea we made this donation,” he said. 
Albert Chadoka, representing Dube, said the donation would change Nigel’s life. 
Tahwa extended his gratitude to all those who contributed towards the new wheelchair. 
“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to those who made this possible. It fills my heart with so much joy and pride to know that there are people who care so much for me. 
“The wheelchair has come at the right time and is going to help me in my journey as I advocate for people with disabilities. I will move to places, tear down walls and climb up mountains if I have to in a bid to address disability issues. Mobility which had become a hindrance to my advocacy is now a thing of the past,” he said.