Movement for Democratic Change vice president Thokozani Khupe and several top regional leaders on Saturday stayed away from an MDC Alliance rally held at White City Stadium following friction between MDC officials over the formation and operations of the alliance.
Party chairman Lovemore Moyo also ‘boycotted’ the rally amid reports of a widening rift between Khupe and Tsvangirai due to unresolved issues centering on the MDC Alliance, which has allocated a large number of parliamentary seats to be contested in 2018 to the MDC formation led by Welshman Ncube.
Khupe, who was assaulted by some MDC-T activists recently that accused her of trying to subvert the activities of the MDC Alliance, was conspicuous by her absence as she has over the years addressed such gatherings.
Khupe’s colleague, suspended MDC-T organizing secretary, did not also attend the rally graced instead by MDC Alliance partners – Welshman Ncube, Aggripa Mutambara of the Zimbabwe People First and several others.
Tsvangirai told supporters that “the hallmark of true leaders is the ability to be able to sit down, talk and compromise for the greater good.”
He said he is “very saddened” that there are some leaders who want to promote ethnicity, pointing out that as one of the causes of Gukurahundi atrocities committed by President Robert Mugabe’s security forces in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the 1980s.
He said the coalition provides the biggest hope for Zimbabwe to get out of its current problems.