Khupe, Mwonzora 'Marriage Of Convenience' On The Rocks
The shaky alliance between MDC-T rival faction leaders Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora is under threat amid reports that the former angered her colleagues in the Supreme Court-created party over the recent nominations to fill vacant legislative seats.
Khupe, who is the party’s interim president, stirred a hornet’s nest with her decision to nominate herself and her inner circle for proportional representation seats which fell vacant following her party’s decision to expel from Parliament MDC Alliance MPs.
A senior party official said Mwonzora and other senior MDC-T officials were not amused because Khupe made the nominations without consulting anyone. The official is quoted as having said:
She has shown that she is purely a factional leader and doesn’t think anything outside her camp. She nominated herself and her close associates to fill the vacant seats without making any consultations and this has angered a lot of people.
Now she has handed the impetus over to her rival Mwonzora who could now really take the fight to her.
Khaliphani Phugeni, Khupe’s spokesperson, denied claims that his boss chose the nominees for Parliament unilaterally. He said:
There is no basis for that allegation. For your own information, the president does not get involved in recalls and nominations. It’s a process that is conducted by provinces spearheaded by the national chairperson Morgen Komichi and the chairperson of the women’s assembly, Dorothy Ndlovu.
Meanwhile, Mwonzora is accused of fanning factionalism and violence within the party with reports suggesting that Khupe’s camp was plotting to get rid of him before the congress takes place.
Mwonzora denied a rift with Khupe, claiming to have “a cordial working relationship” with her, although he admitted that he will run for the presidency if nominated.
