The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka Sunday News Reporter
MDC-T’s Bulawayo provincial acting chairperson Ms Dorcas Sibanda yesterday faced the reality of her unpopularity in the province when youths aligned to Bulawayo deputy mayor Clr Gift Banda heckled her during a rally in Makokoba, in an apparent show of the deepening ructions in the party’s provincial structures.
Ms Sibanda, the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo Central, had been introduced by the party’s organising secretary Mr Abednico Bhebhe as part of the party’s hierarchy gracing the rally when some party youths interrupted her speech chanting: “Asifuni, asifuni, asifuni!”.
It had to take Mr Bhebhe, who was the master of ceremonies at the rally, to quell the youths and allow Ms Sibanda to finish her remarks.
She, however, could not continue and immediately took her seat.
As if to rub salt to Ms Sibanda’s injury, her perceived nemesis, Clr Banda, who came for the rally late, arrived to wild cheers from party members and proceedings halted momentarily as the youths broke into song in apparent show of their support for Clr Banda.
The embattled acting provincial chairperson was to get a second bout of abuse from party supporters who again interrupted her as she delivered the vote of thanks.
Ms Sibanda’s embarrassment gave the party’s secretary general, Mr Douglas Mwonzora, who was the guest speaker at the rally, first-hand experience of the deepening divisions in the party’s structures in Bulawayo province.
The divisions were made further apparent when Mr Mwonzora, before giving his remarks recognised the presence of Bulawayo senator Mr Matson Hlahlo, again inviting jeers and whistles of disapproval from the party’s supporters.
Mr Mwonzora had to appeal with the party supporters to behave before he continued with his address.
Senator Hlalo’s unpopularity with the party’s supporters manifested when he lost the race to the party’s provincial chairmanship to Clr Banda in the run up to the chaos-riddled MDC-T national congress in 2014.
Clr Banda was, however, forced to step down from the position following a High Court judgment necessitated by Sen Hlalo’s application, leading to Ms Sibanda, who was the deputy chairperson and largely perceived to be in Hlalo’s camp, taking over on an interim basis.
Turning to his speech, Mr Mwonzora said he was sent by party president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai to explain to the party supporters the decision by the party to boycott the 10 June by-elections.
Mr Mwonzora said his party was not going to participate in any election until “electoral reforms” were implemented which would “level” the political playing field.
“I know people of Makokoba are now used to having a councillor. You are now used to having an MP until some people decided to leave the party. What you are not used to is having your president in office. That can only happen if we push for the electoral reforms.
“We would want to make our position clear. We are not going to participate in any election until the reforms that we are calling for are implemented,” he said, giving a 10-point outline of the reforms his party was clamouring for.
Mr Mwonzora was in Bulawayo to complete Mr Tsvangirai’s failed mission to explain to supporters the party’s position on by-elections. The mission was foiled last weekend by some supporters aligned to the party’s vice-president Ms Thokozani Khupe.
Mr Tsvangirai was forced to cancel one of his rallies that was pencilled for Luveve after violent clashes erupted between rival factions in the province.
Party insiders said Mr Tsvangirai, who was in Kwekwe on Friday on a similar mission, opted to send Mr Mwonzora to do the job as he feared another embarrassment at the hands of Ms Khupe’s supporters as the fallout between him and his deputy was deepening.
However, Mr Mwonzora dismissed the claim that Mr Tsvangirai was now scared of visiting Bulawayo, saying the embattled opposition leader had, “a lot of things to attend to in Harare. He is also preparing for another big rally in Harare on Monday so he decided to send me to explain our position to party supporters”.
Mr Tsvangirai and Ms Khupe’s fallout over the by-elections among other issues is becoming more and more apparent, threatening to condemn the opposition party into demise as it has sucked in party leaders and supporters at all levels.
