THOKOZANI Khupe’s MDC-T faces collapse following the sudden
resignation by party vice-president Obert Gutu, who called it quits as
allegations of lack of direction, leadership and strategy dogs the party.
Gutu, the most outspoken member of the Political Actors
Dialogue (Polad), announced that he had resigned yesterday morning citing
personal reasons.
“For purely personal and private reasons, I am resigning
from the MDC-T with immediate effect,” he said in a notice to media houses.
Highly-placed sources said Gutu’s departure from Khupe’s
side had sounded the death knell to the party as he was one of the major
funders of operations and the legal brains behind the court case to dislodge
Nelson Chamisa from the helm of the MDC.
“The party does not have money and most of its activities
were being funded through Gutu’s law firm especially travels for party
meetings,” said a source.
“Membership has also been dropping and the party has lost
massive support since joining Polad in the face of economic hardships that have
hit the people. Khupe hardly speaks in public and has not shown any leadership
qualities except following Zanu PF. So with Gutu gone, the party will likely go
under.”
Another source said Khupe’s entire leadership was unhappy
and also wanted to quit after losing the battle against Chamisa and suffering
on the fringes of power, while their boss dines and wines with President
Emmerson Mnangagwa at Polad.
“The party has no programme of action. It’s clear that the
next election we will be lucky to pull 20 votes. But while the rest of us
suffer she is busy feeding fish at Mnangagwa’s farm and having expensive
lunches, getting fuel from government and flying places in the name of Polad,”
said another source.
Party secretary-general Nickson Nyikadzino said he was
shocked by the unexpected resignation of Gutu.
“I don’t even know his reasons for leaving and this comes
as a shock to us in the party. I have to talk to him first to understand why he
took that decision,” he said.
MDC spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said the resignation of
Gutu was a non-event because the party was nothing.
“To us it’s a non-event. When nothing pulls out of nothing,
the result is nothing. So it’s a non-event for some of us. We do not follow
anything that is happening in the hall of nothing,” said Tamborinyoka.
Gutu refused to comment on his next step amid speculation
that he could be joining government in a job that would offer him lucrative
perks and benefits.
Last year Mnangagwa invited all presidential candidates to
a dialogue and was joined by 20 out of the 22 presidential candidates in talks
so far snubbed by the main opposition MDC.
Three other parties that had joined the dialogue have since
left while Bryn Mteki and Ambrose Mutinhiri rejoined Zanu PF leaving the
credibility of the talks in tatters.
The collapse of Khupe’s party could all but render Polad
useless. Standard
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