(Last Updated on October 6, 2015 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – Senior members of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are reportedly opposed to party leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s proposed plan to form a coalition with former vice president Joice Mujuru.
Recent reports indicated that Tsvangirai and Mujuru were ready to form a united front with the aim of forcing President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party out of power, as the country gears up for the 2018 elections.
“As the MDC, we formed our party after we saw Zanu-PF’s misrule. Even former senior Zanu-PF officials have also now come to see this misrule for what it is, so we are open to working with them,” a Daily News report quoted Tsvangirai as saying last month.
Mujuru was kicked out of the ruling party last year, together with other senior Zanu-PF officials, following allegations of plotting against Mugabe.
Mujuru denied the allegations.
NewsDay reported on Monday that Tsvangirai’s plan to join hands with Mujuru had divided the top leadership of his party, with some officials describing the planned coalition as “a great betrayal of those who died for the democratic struggle”.
Abuse and killings
“As the youth, we are very clear, the MDC and Tsvangirai have capacity to take power from Zanu-PF alone. We will not support the so-called coalition because we do not need it,” MDC’s national youth leader Happymore Chidziva was quoted as saying.
“It will be a betrayal of those who died for the democratic struggle if we are to be seen to work together with people who presided over the abuse and killings of our people in Mashonaland Central. It is not going to happen under our watch,” he said.
Kuwadzana East MP Nelson Chamisa, warned that Mujuru should not expect to be given the leadership of the opposition on a silver platter.
“Then there is the issue of this woman who used to be in Zanu-PF. She should earn the trust of Zimbabweans. There is no way that she can expect to just come and jump the queue into the driving seat. We have come too far to let that happen,” Chamisa was quoted as saying.
The officials said this while addressing rally in Harare.