CLAIMS by the opposition MDC-Alliance that its members are routinely abducted by State agents have been exposed as nothing but sheer fabrications following the recent exoneration of a senior party official accused of being behind the alleged kidnapping of Tawanda Muchehiwa in Bulawayo last July.
In revelations that have shocked the rank and file of the
beleaguered opposition party, some senior MDC-A officials are pointing fingers
at fellow members whom they accuse of working with the G40 faction to fabricate
abduction tales.
Journalist with close links to the
G40, Mduduzi Mathuthu, has come out guns blazing accusing the opposition party
of protecting and exonerating Bulawayo women’s assembly chairperson Ms Tendai
Masotsha in the abduction of Muchehiwa.
In a rant posted on his Twitter handle, Mathuthu challenged
the MDC-A leadership to come clean over the abduction of Muchehiwa.
“Been through a hellish few months. MDC-Alliance SG
Charlton Hwende has not helped the situation. He told the MDC standing
committee last week, while defending Tendai Masotsha, that I’m pursuing a ‘G40
agenda’ against his party.
“I pray the MDC has more sophisticated ways of addressing
issues of this nature. It cannot be sufficient to dismiss victims as G40, while
pursuing a shoddy investigation.
“I got frustrated writing this. My nephew is tortured near
death, and Mr Hwende thinks I’m out to get his party. Was Masotsha working for
the MDC-Alliance chief? I don’t recall your party claiming parentage of July
31. Why don’t you let her carry her own cross?” said Mathuthu on his Twitter
account.
In response through the same social media platform, Hwende,
who is the opposition party’s secretary-general, denied shielding the women’s
assembly chair saying his job was not to protect individuals but the party. He
insisted that Mathuthu was working with the G40 faction to weaken the
opposition party.
“My job is not to defend individuals, but party positions.
The report on the investigation of Masotsha was presented, debated and adopted
by the party leadership,” Hwende said.
Three opposition party officials namely MP Joana Mamombe
and activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova are facing charges of faking
abductions to besmirch the Second Republic.
Apparently, the fake abduction of Mathuthu’s nephew was
supposed to mirror the fake abduction of the trio in Bulawayo.
In the heated exchange, an irate Mathuthu revealed that
Hwende uses multiple fake accounts on social media platforms to push and
sustain the anti-Zimbabwe agenda including attacking other senior members of
the opposition party.
“This one calling himself Gatsheni Gatsheni is Charlton Hwende. He has just labelled Job Sikhala, a senior member of his party, ‘G40’ and accused him of leaking their discussions — all for the preservation of Tendai Masotsha.
“How do I know; you might ask? Well, Gatsheni always has
documents he posts here when they are still hot. So I went into his inbox once
to ask for a certain document, and provided my email. What happened next?
Charlton Hwende dropped the documents on my WhatsApp,” said Mathuthu.
Attempts by the MDC-A youth assembly chairperson Mr Obey
Sithole to defend Mr Hwende came to naught as the majority of people who were
following the heated exchange accused the MDC-A of faking abductions to gain
political mileage.
The exoneration of Ms Masotsha from any involvement in the
staged abduction of Mucheiwa proved beyond doubt that the opposition party was
attempting to hush down a sinister agenda.
Ms Masotsha was said to have been in the company of
Mucheiwa who was allegedly abducted in July. A journalism student, Mucheiwa was
assisting Masotsha in mobilising people for the failed July 31 protests when he
was allegedly abducted.
After being released from the faked abduction, Mucheiwa
accused Ms Masotsha of being involved in the whole fiasco. The allegations by
Mucheiwa prompted the MDC-A to set up an investigation committee and suspended
Ms Masotsha who has since been found innocent of any wrongdoing. Herald
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