THE MDC-T is investigating reports that one of its senior Bulawayo province members allegedly said the party and its leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, will fare badly in Matabeleland in the next elections, as people from outside the region were being imposed as candidates.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe
In a recording obtained last week, a person — believed to be Luveve-Cowdray Park MP Reggie Moyo — predicts that Tsvangirai will face resistance in the region, while parliamentary and council candidates will win.
Information at hand indicates that the recording was obtained secretly, in what appears to be a sting operation, as campaigning in the party got dirty ahead of the weekend confirmation process.
In the recording, Moyo appears to be chastising Tsvangirai and the party’s national executive council for imposing candidates that had reportedly been disqualified by provincial structures.
The recording, insiders said, was handed over to MDC-T security officials during the party’s recent policy conference.
“The issue is about the brand. At the end of the day, there is no way where Tsvangirai can risk a situation where there is a Mujuru in Bulawayo when (MDC leader) Welshman (Ncube) is lurking around,” Moyo is heard saying amid laughter. “They will finish him.”
Kidwell Mujuru, who the recording is apparently referring to, is an MDC-T member who had expressed interest in contesting the Luveve-Cowdray Park constituency. But he lost his bid on Sunday when Moyo was confirmed as the candidate. Contacted for comment on Sunday, Moyo distanced himself from the recording.
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“I do not know what you are talking about,” he said. “Ask Mandla Sibanda (MDC-T Bulawayo provincial spokesperson).” Sibanda said he had not heard the original recording. “Unfortunately, I have not heard the original recording,” he said. “Once we get it, definitely we will act on it. We do not allow such behaviour in the party.”
Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka could neither deny nor confirm that the Premier had received a copy of the recording.
