Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday accused what he termed “too many stakeholders” for complicating his private life.
This follows the furore over his relationship with Harare businesswoman Lorcadia Karimatsenga Tembo.
Tsvangirai, who lost his wife Susan in a horrific car accident in 2009, said it was difficult for him to remarry as his relationships usually attracted many stakeholders, all seeking relevance in the affair.
He was addressing guests at a wedding ceremony for MDC-T Masvingo provincial chairperson Wilfstaf Sitemere at Masvingo Polytechnic.
The PM, who maintained he was still a widower, left the guests in stitches when he declared himself “chairman of the Widowers’ Association of Zimbabwe”.
“I stand here as chairman. Why didn’t you ask me, your chairman for Widowers’ Association of Zimbabwe? I say congratulations to you.
“I asked recently how do other people do it (remarry) so easily while for some of us, it’s like ngozi (avenging spirit),” he said.
Tsvangirai has been linked to several women after the death of his wife of 31 years.
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“It’s difficult to marry for the second time,” he said. “You go here and there and sometimes you say let me leave it. There are many stakeholders, children, friends, political party — it’s difficult to please everyone.
“You have to deal with all the stakeholders,” he said. “When we marry we will emulate what you have done (wedding),” Tsvangirai said.
His alleged marriage to Tembo allegedly caused disharmony within the MDC-T with party officials reportedly uneasy over her links to Zanu PF.
Tembo is a younger sister to Biata Nyamupinga, the Zanu PF MP for Goromonzi West.
Some senior MDC-T officials are reportedly baying for the party’s Women Assembly Theresa Makone’s blood, accusing her of playing matchmaker in Tsvangirai’s love life.
Last week, Tsvangirai went public about his relationship with Tembo and accused State security agents and the public media of hijacking it.He said everything was “choreographed to inflict maximum damage on his person and character for political gain”.
“Indeed I had a relationship with Ms Lorcadia Karimatsenga (Tembo).
“At a certain stage, she claimed that she was pregnant and that I had to be introduced to her family to own up and accept responsibility according to our culture and tradition,” Tsvangirai said in a statement.
“Added to this, there is now an underhand and active political hand that is now driving the processes and this has resulted in everything regarding this relationship now taking place on camera, with the public media journalists in tow. “Everything is so well-choreographed.
“The intention is clear: to inflict maximum damage on my person and character for political gain.” “This has caused me to have serious misgivings as to whether this will be a perfect union.”
A 23-year-old Bulawayo woman recently disclosed that she had given birth to Tsvangirai’s son before another city businesswoman was linked to the Premier.
Other senior MDC-T officials at the wedding included chief of staff in the PM’s Office Ian Makone, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister Tapiwa Mashaka, Finance minister Tendai Biti, Information Communication Technology minister Nelson Chamisa, Public Service minister Lucia Matibenga and the party’s deputy organising secretary Morgan Komichi. Zanu PF’s Chivi South MP Ivene Dzingirai also attended the ceremony.
