MANGONO JOINS TSVANGIRAI FACTION (02-08-07)

shed both my membership and official positions of National Executive member and Portfolio Secretary for Education of the MDC led by Prof A Mutambara and decided to rejoin President Tsvangirai led MDC,” read part of the press statement.

Mangono was the National Executive member of the MDC pro-senate and was also the Portfolio Secretary for Education.

Analysts say this move by Mangono might see a mass exodus of other Members of Parliaments and leading pro-democracy cadres from the Mutambara faction following suit.

Mangono is the fourth high ranking MDC official to desert the academic led faction and some are Gift Chimanike for Mbare constituency, Blessing Chebundo for Kwekwe and Joel Gabhuza for Binga.

Silas Mangono says he has thought to leave the Mutambara led faction as he believes in a united front to confront ZANU PF in the coming elections.

“I therefore avail myself to the people of Masvingo and Zimbabwe in general as their colleague who is prepared even to work as an ordinary cadre, even at branch level,” read Mangono’s statement.

In the past few weeks a senior ZANU PF member from the Midlands province defected from the ruling ZANU PF and joined opposition MDC led by the veteran trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.

The defection of Mangono comes a few days after Professor Arthur Mutambara announced he was pulling out from the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and his party was going to announce its candidate for 2008 polls.