DOUGLAS Mwonzora’s MDC-T formation faces implosion after top executives, including his deputy Thokozani Khupe, were ordered to leave the party for recently defying a directive to withdraw financial impropriety charges they filed against him.
The resolution to purge defiant executives was read out to
Khupe and her team on Wednesday this week following a national standing
committee meeting held two weeks ago.
Besides Khupe, Mwonzora’s axe is also likely to fall on
party chairperson Morgen Komichi, Chief Ndlovu and several top executives after
they insisted that Mwonzora should account for the $6 million illegally
withdrawn from party coffers ahead of the party’s extraordinary congress in
December.
“The resolution was smuggled as a way of bringing cohesion
in the party cockpit and ensuring that the top leaders do not seem to be
working against each other. They want Khupe, Komichi and Ndlovu to withdraw
affidavits with the police,” an insider said.
Khupe, who has been boycotting party meetings since she
controversially lost to Mwonzora at an extraordinary congress held in December,
reportedly dug in and challenged Mwonzora to come out clean on the matter.
MDC-T’s provincial chairman of the United States branch Dan
Moyo yesterday confirmed the development.
“I have heard from our structures and representatives in
the standing committee that there has been an attempt to silence leaders who reported
to the police over the missing funds. We can’t be a party that condones
criminality. If there is no theft, why ordering party members to withdraw their
reports to the police?” Moyo said.
But MDC-T presidential spokesperson Lloyd Damba denied reports
of a looming purge, saying the party was simply working towards cohesion.
“There is no ounce of truth in that. What we discussed were
issues to do with leadership cohesion, institutional growth and
strengthening. For us to achieve this,
it means there must be peace in the cockpit,” he said.
Asked whether Mwonzora was ready to stand trial in court to
prove his innocence, Damba said the party congress had made a resolution that
no funds were missing, hence Mwonzora had no case to answer.
He said the allegations that Mwonzora stole party funds
were malicious. Komichi curtly said he was not aware of the issues. “It was
never said. Maybe I had gone out of the meeting when it was said,” he said.
MDC-T activist Patson Murimoga recently mobilised for
demonstrations against the party leader and wrote several petitions to compel
Mwonzora to account for the missing party funds.
Yesterday, Murimoga claimed on social media that he had
been fired from the party for refusing to withdraw theft charges against
Mwonzora.
“People of Zimbabwe, I want you to know that on April 14,
MDC-T as a party made a resolution that all leaders who gave statements to the
police over the $6 million stolen by Mwonzora should go back and withdraw the
statements,” Murimoga said.
“Failure of which they said the youth assembly will deal
with us. Right now, I have received a letter firing me from the party because I
refused to go and withdraw my statement,” he said.
However, party spokesperson Witness Dube yesterday dismissed
Murimoga’s claims, describing him as desperate.
“Patson Murimoga should focus on rebuilding his fallen
musical career, seeing how he has become a stranded horse, voiced lamp post,
tortoise singing for supper from enemies of the MDC-T, over funds that never
went missing from our coffers,” Dube said.
In a related development, Khupe’s chief aide, Kudzanai
Mashumba two weeks ago filed a US$5 500 theft charge against Mwonzora, claiming
the embattled MDC-T leader stole the money from his office at Morgan Richard
Tsvangirai House in December 2020. The matter was reported under case number
CR1303/21. Yesterday, Mashumba attempted to enter the party offices in the
company of detectives investigating the matter, but was reportedly blocked by
Mwonzora’s aides. Newsday
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