Tsvangirai undemocratic: MDC rebels

The Team accused Tsvangirai of entering into an unholy alliance with Zanu (PF) and said he wanted to protect himself from being evicted from the government house in Highlands, Harare where he is staying for free.

A statement issued by the MDC Team spokesperson, Jacob Mafume, described Tsvangirai as an undemocratic leader bent on blocking the MDC structures from freely upholding their constitutional obligations.

“The MDC Team will never work with Zanu (PF) but it is actually Tsvangirai who has gone to bed with that murderous and corrupt party.

“He has done this to cushion him from being evicted from the lavish government house in Highlands where he staying for free besides benefitting from the land reform after he took a farm in Zhombe,” read the statement.

Calls for leadership change within the MDC intensified over the past few months although Tsvangirai was quoted saying the party had resolved its differences.

The party’s national council expelled the former energy minister, Elton Mangoma, national executive member, Last Maengahama, youth assembly secretary general, Promise Mkwananzi and Mafume, former director in the then Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s office.

“The team dismisses with contempt Tsvangirai’s statements that the Team is working with Zanu PF in calling for constitutional reforms in the MDC.”

Mafume described the MDC Team as a people’s project that seeks to ensure that the MDC sticks to its democratic principles and values in defeating Zanu (PF) in the 2018 elections and usher in a new prosperous country.

“The idea to form the MDC in 1999 was not to create a monarchy where the party leader sees himself in divine rule until his eyes fail him and die in office as clearly as others are intending to do,” read the statement.

Giving his speech at the country’s 34th independence celebrations at the National Sports Stadium in Harare last week, President Robert Mugabe was visibly struggling with his eyesight.

His right eye seemed shut for most of his one and half hour long speech forcing him to remove his spectacles at least three times and he spoke for a long time without glasses.

The leadership change wing of the party said although Tsvangirai wanted to create a state of denial and separation from the reality on the ground, the MDC Team would not take Tsvangirai’s statements seriously.

“What we are witnessing from Tsvangirai is a serious “Zanufication” of the party processes as those who hold opposing views from him are being expelled without due processes,” said Mafume.

The Team accused Tsvangirai of engaging in violence acts and intimidating those of divergent views in his bid to maintain the party’s presidency.

“He is an undemocratic leader who has resorted to the use of violence, purges and intimidation to cow party organs into submission in pursuit of his selfish interest of maintaining his authoritarian grip on power.

“We know of people wanting to protect Tsvangirai at the expense of the party for fear of losing at the annual Congress.”

The Team called for unity of purpose saying that this would revive the people’s democratic project and restore the people’s hope in a credible and democratic alternative that can deliver jobs, better health, education and a better life for all in a truly democratic Zimbabwe.

“We believe in a united democratic movement that builds a broad social movement, delivers democratic transition and economic independence in Zimbabwe and the time for such a movement is now,” read the statement.