MDC leader Nelson Chamisa is reportedly under pressure from
his loyalists to ditch some top party executives accused of hobnobbing with
ruling Zanu PF officials and State security agents to destabilise the country’s
main opposition party.
The “sell-outs”, according to party insiders, were working
with ruling Zanu PF party and military intelligence operatives in monitoring
top opposition leaders’ movements in the wake of flash protests across the
country.
Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda confirmed efforts
to destabilise the party, adding the MDC leadership had identified the alleged
“sell-outs”.
“The issue of infiltration is a public secret. Obviously,
Zanu PF always has paid some people some money to destabilise the organisation.
They have always done that and there is nothing new,” he said.
“They want us to think about that, but we have issues to
think about that and regardless of Zanu PF shenanigans, president Chamisa is
moving forward with the ship.”
Sibanda said it was an issue to divert attention by Zanu PF
and those within the party who were desperate to find a “soft landing”.
But Zanu PF secretary for administration, Obert Mpofu,
denied reports that his party was sponsoring chaos in the MDC.
“It is them making allegations. If they are so gullible to
be sponsored by other parties, then it is just an admission that they are
actually not a people’s party. If they were, indeed, a people’s project, they
wouldn’t be worried about all those things.”
MDC sources said they were aware of who was behind the
chaos, naming some senior members who were reportedly working with some within
Zanu PF and the military intelligence to destabilise the party.
A senior MDC official yesterday said: “It is known that
there is a person in the organisation who invokes Chamisa’s name each time he
runs into problems within the organisation.
“His attitude is that he should go down with Chamisa and
the party and hold the organisation to ransom to say if you do this, I will act
that way, but that is now known.”
Observers said a letter written by the party’s
secretary-general Chalton Hwende last week giving the party’s deputy secretary
for international relations, Douglas Mwonzora, a final warning over his alleged
taking of party issues to social media was clear indication of a serious rift
within the MDC.
There were also reports that the party’s secretary for
strategy and implementation in Chamisa’s office, Morgen Komichi, had resigned
citing frustration and being overlooked by the youthful leader despite
vigorously campaigning for him ahead of the party’s congress last year.
Komichi, however, denied that he had resigned or was being
frustrated, saying his absence from some of the meetings was because of other
commitments.
“People are lying, it is just a lie. Everything is a lie
and I even attend party programmes, unless when I am tied up somewhere, but
those are all lies,” he said.
Responding on micro-blogging site Twitter on Komichi’s
alleged resignation, Chamisa said: “I am not aware of any of such. Remember
that public entities are voluntary entities. Members sign up and resign. This
is normal in all voluntary organisations. Our opposition is working 24/7 to
portray the people’s party as an entity in turmoil. MDC is a people’s party.”
Newsday
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