The Sunday News
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday came face-to-face with the party’s factional wars in Bulawayo when violent clashes erupted between rival factions, forcing the beleaguered party president to cancel one of his scheduled rallies.
The party also continued its attack on journalists, with party members barring reporters from Sunday News and ZTV from covering the two rallies that were addressed by Mr Tsvangirai in Pumula and White City Stadium in Pelandaba.
Some of the youths even attacked Chronicle chief photographer Eliah Saushoma and threatened him for taking pictures outside White City Stadium.
Mr Tsvangirai was forced to cancel his third rally that was scheduled for Luveve, with reports that some youths had been camped at the venue since morning, drinking alcohol and preparing to stage a demonstration against the party’s decision not to participate in the 10 June by-elections.
Ironically, Mr Tsvangirai was in the city calling on his members to boycott the elections in what he has termed the “no reforms no elections” rallies.
When this news crew arrived at the Pumula rally, which itself was poorly attended, youths aligned to the party’s acting provincial chairperson Ms Dorcas Sibanda could be heard threatening another group that was said to be belonging to the party’s deputy president Ms Thokozani Khupe.
The scuffle, which lasted close to 30 minutes, only ended after the “Khupe youths” left in a truck and commuter omnibus headed for White City to lay an “ambush” against the rival faction.
Impeccable party sources told our reporter that Mr Tsvangirai almost cancelled the White City rally when he was informed that the situation was tense.
“He actually drove past the venue, only returning more than three hours later to make a 10-minute speech. He then decided to cancel the Luveve rally because a demonstration was planned there,” said the source.
In excerpts of his address, caught from outside the Pumula rally venue, Mr Tsvangirai blamed the factional wars on provincial party leaders, who he said were not playing their role of uniting the party.
“It is your leaders who are causing all these problems but I must warn them that we will deal with anyone we discover is fanning any factionalism because it is not good for the party,” he said.
This news crew managed to sneak into a commuter omnibus (registration number ABN 7150) which was ferrying youths aligned to Ms Sibanda. The minibus was loaded with all sorts of weapons, boulders, knobkerries and bottles, with the youths singing denigrating songs against the party’s vice-president Ms Thokozani Khupe.
“We are here for business; we don’t want people to think they can sell out while we watch, we will deal with them. Who does MaKhupe think she is? We only have one party president and this is the one that we will follow,” one youth was heard saying.
Ms Helen Tshepiso Mpofu, the party’s deputy provincial organising secretary, was heard instructing the youths to keep a close eye on the Khupe faction, instructing them to deal with them if need be.
“I am the organising secretary that is why I am telling you to keep an eye on these sellouts,” Ms Mpofu was heard saying.
Contacted for comment, the party’s national spokesperson downplayed the scuffles claiming they were being instigated by a few infiltrators who were not genuine members of the party.
“The problem that we are having is that we now have a lot of infiltrators in our party who are not genuine party members. Their only aim is to cause alarm and despondency.
“Anyone who is a true party cadre knows that we are a peace-loving party. We don’t believe in violence and if anyone has a bone to chew with a fellow comrade there are ways of dealing with this,” said Mr Gutu.
On the barring and violence against journalists, the party spokesperson also distanced himself alleging that those that had barred the journalists were mischievous individuals.
“I have said it time and again, that is not our party policy. We believe in a diverse media which is why I speak to every journalist across the divide. Anyone who attacks journalists is misguided and not a genuine party member,” said Mr Gutu.
Today Mr Tsvangirai is expected to address a rally in Tsholotsho.
