Zimpapers Logo

Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
A faction rooting for MDC-T co-vice president Mr Nelson Chamisa to take the reins of the party has reportedly declared the party’s national headquarters, Harvest House, a no-go area for fellow co-vice president Mr Elias Mudzuri, who is currently battling to assume the levers of power in the fractured outfit.

Mr Mudzuri, who had separately scheduled a standing committee meeting, was yesterday denied access to Harvest House.

Party leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who was battling colon cancer in South Africa, passed on yesterday.

His deputies Messrs Chamisa and Mudzuri are variously claiming to be the legitimate interim leaders of the opposition party.

Sources told The Herald yesterday that while Mr Chamisa spent the greater part of yesterday at Harvest House preparing for a national executive and national council meetings set for today, which are largely expected to anoint him as the acting president, Mr Mudzuri was holding parallel party meetings at his Milton Park residence.

Mr Mudzuri yesterday declined to comment, saying he was in a meeting.

But on Tuesday, he confirmed that he was receiving threats from party activists.

“Yes, I have been receiving threats from activists. The threats have always been there since these problems began and they continue to persist,” said Mr Mudzuri.

Eng Mudzuri

Mr Chamisa declined to comment on Mr Mudzuri’s allegations, but said he expected him to attend today’s national executive and national council meetings.

“I have actually written to him asking him to make a presentation in respect of the brief he was given by the party.

“He has a portfolio he was tasked to superintend and that is the report that we expect delivery of.

“We expect him to attend tomorrow’s meeting and give that report. We are expecting more than 200 delegates from across the country at tomorrow’s meeting,” said Mr Chamisa.

Meanwhile, Mr Tsvangirai’s family has dismissed claims that he had written a letter appointing Mr Chamisa acting president.

In an interview streamed live on South African-based Mr Mutumwa Mawere’s Facebook page, Mr Collin Tsvangirai — the opposition leader’s younger brother — said only Mr Mudzuri had met the Mr Tsvangirai last week.

He further claimed that it was disingenuous for Mr Chamisa to claim that he had met Mr Tsvangirai when at the same time he sought to rubbish Mr Mudzuri’s meeting on the pretext that his brother was incapacitated.

Mr Mudzuri, he said, met Mr Tsvangirai at his brother’s instigation through his personal assistant, Ms Ana Muzvidziwa.

In a telephone interview with Mr Mawere, Ms Muzvidziwa said she was asked to tell Mr Mudzuri to fly to Johannesburg for a meeting with her boss.