THE fight for control of the MDC took a nasty twist on Sunday night after a car belonging to a member of the Dr Thokozani Khupe-led faction was allegedly petrol-bombed.
This comes as Khupe was declared the interim leader of the
MDC after the Supreme Court ruled that the party’s former president Nelson
Chamisa violated the party constitution when he rose to the presidency in the
aftermath of Morgan Tsvangirai’s death in 2018.
The Supreme Court ruling effectively put control of the MDC
and all its properties, including the party headquarters Harvest House, in the
hands of Dr Khupe.
Apart from losing Harvest House, Mr Chamisa, who now leads
the MDC-Alliance, has seen his power base both in Parliament and in local
authorities being eroded as MPs and councillors start to line behind Khupe.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi
confirmed that they were investigating a possible case of arson involving rival
political camps.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that we have
received a report from Gilbert Bwende concerning an incident in the ZRP Milton
policing area and we are conducting investigations,” said Assistant
Commissioner Nyathi.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr Gilbert Bwende, who is rooting for
the Khupe faction in the raging MDCs battles for dominance, said he has been
accused by shadowy figures of “sponsoring rebels” such as Mr Douglas Mwonzora.
Mr Bwende, said when he retired to bed in Belvedere on Sunday
night, all was apparently well. However, before he could fall asleep an
explosion that was accompanied by a huge fireball pierced the night’s silence.
“Initially I thought it was an electric fault, but upon
further investigations I realised that the car was on fire, my neighbours came
and assisted me to put out the fire. I then went and reported the matter to
Milton Police after suspecting that it could have been a petrol bomb,” said Mr
Bwende.
The targeting of Mr Bwende’s house also comes at a time
when senior MDC officials, namely the party national chairperson Morgen Komichi
and secretary-general, who were both reinstated to their 2014 positions by the
Supreme Court have warned of the growing threat of violence from their rivals.
Mr Mwonzora yesterday said despite the numerous threats
hanging over their heads from shadowy groups such as the so-called Vanguard,
they would continue preparing to have an extraordinary congress in July as has
been ordered by the Supreme Court.
“There are threats against our leadership, some are sending
text messages using foreign numbers. We are being branded rebels, but we
actually know the true rebels, those who are supporting Mr Chamisa are the
rebels. We are not fazed by the threats because they are just threats, however,
we are treating the bombing of Bwende’s house seriously,” said Mwonzora.
Since its formation in 1999, the MDC has been characterised
by violence that usually accompany acrimonious splits. Herald
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