THE Welshman Ncube-led MDC has fired its deputy spokesperson Mbuso Siso on allegations of bringing the name of the opposition party into disrepute after he raised complaints over the criteria used in the selection of candidates for the July 30 polls.
By NQOBANI NDLOVU
He was immediately replaced by former Bulawayo provincial chairperson, Oscar Ncube.
Siso confirmed the development yesterday, saying he was fired for questioning the selection of Ncube’s son, Nkanyiso Brezhnev Mathonsi as the party’s candidate for Ward 2 in Bulawayo Central.
The seat was eventually taken by the MDC-T.
“It is a shame that the MDC has come up with this decision to appoint Ncube in the portfolio I have been serving in without any form of communication to me at all,” Siso told Southern Eye.
“What I know is that we have had an internal fight on how the candidate selection committee selected a candidate in a ward that I had applied for. This candidate selection committee was biased as it chose a member of no good standing in the party who is suspected to belong to Zanu PF.
“After raising my concerns and grievances, I then asked for a meeting with the president on several occasions before the nomination court which he did not respond to until the day of the nomination court.”
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MDC national spokesperson Kuraone Chihwayi, however, dismissed Siso’s claims, saying he was expelled for bringing the name of the party into disrepute.
“It is unfortunate that Siso is seeing things differently. The president of the MDC Professor Welshman Ncube did not impose his relatives and will never do that. I don’t remember the party promising Siso a local government seat.
“The allegations raised by Siso are incorrect, mischievous and far from the truth. Professor Ncube removed Siso to protect the good reputation of the party,” Chihwayi said in a written response to Southern Eye.
This came at a time when cracks are beginning to show in the MDC Alliance, which Ncube’s MDC is part of, over the distribution of constituencies and local government seats among parties in the coalition.
The MDC-T stands accused of grabbing seats that had been allocated to MDC Alliance partners.
