Speaking about the split which saw Secretary General Welshman Ncube leave the party, the National Chairman of the MDC, Isaac Matongo said: “Everybody is free to form a party, there is freedom of association. Let’s forget about the split and focus on getting rid of Mugabe.” He said that the split was part of a “longstanding agenda of taking Tsvangirai out of power”. The Chairman of the Central London Branch, Ephraim Tapa told the delegation that “news of a MDC fallout was greeted by diasporans with disbelief, anxiety and a sense of betrayal.
Many of us in the diaspora took the MDC as the only hope not only for Zimbabwe but also for our return. We don’t want to be here, we are homesick, we really want to go home,” he added. MDC members meeting the delegation at the forum in London asked the delegation to stop the infighting in the MDC and focus on bread and butter issues urgently facing most Zimbabweans. Harold Ndlovu, Chair for the East London branch said: “We don’t want to hear who did what, we want to hear what you will do next.” Amidst calls for the delegation to “come clean” about the “kitchen cabinet” said to be advising Tsvangirai, Chamisa said: “I don’t see anything wrong with any president consulting supporting staff.” He admitted that the issue of the “big six” would have to be dealt with in the forthcoming MDC congress but cautioned Zimbabweans that “the challenge is bigger than the kitchen cabinet”.
Referring to the recent split in the Leicester branch, the delegation confirmed Emily Madamonbe as the chair for the Leicester branch and acting secretary for the district until further decisions are made in Congress.