Tsvangirai's Bulawayo rally likely to be cancelled

The Morgan Tsvangirai Movement for Democratic Change rally scheduled for Stanley Square Makokoba in Bulawayo tomorrow is likely to be cancelled at the last minute amidst fears of violence and apathy.

Reports coming through from Bulawayo indicate that the Bulawayo Province is so divided that it will not be conducive for the meeting to go ahead. The party is heavily divided into two factions one calling for Tsvangirai to step down led by Provincial Chairman Gorden Moyo and the other against Tsvangirai's resignation.

Tensions are so high in the party that some members of the pro Tsvangirai youth wing are already camped at Stanley Square guarding the venue for possible sabotage by the leadership renewal faction.

Friday morning, eve of the rally, the party's Bulawayo Province woke up to massive graffiti on the walls and cars denouncing Morgan Tsvangirai. By late afternoon, the City was being painted red with fliers from the renewal team denouncing Tsvangirai and calling on the people of Bulawayo not to attend the rally.

Later in the day more fliers were being circulated advising people that the rally has been cancelled by the police. The second lot of fliers are believed to be distributed by both the Welshman Ncube led MDC and the renewal faction youth. According to reports the Welshman Ncube led MDC youth want to distract the meeting because of reports that some of their party heavy weights are expected to be paraded as having joined the MDC T.

Rumours are making rounds in the city that MDC Ncube heavy weights Paul Temba Nyathi, Ephath Mdlongwa, Edward Mukhosi and Siyabonga Malandu amongst a host other supporters will be paraded at the rally as having defected to the MDC-T. The MDC youth are so infuriated by the reports that they have joined the renewal team to make sure the rally does not go ahead.

Under the Public Order and Security Act, police have a right to call off the rally at the last minute if they have the slightest of beliefs that there will be violence at the rally. Confirmed reports are that the police in Bulawayo are currently involved in assessment meetings to see if the rally can still be sanctioned or cancelled.

Meanwhile, the MDC T has dispatched trucks to districts around Bulawayo to as far as Gwanda, Plumtree, Lupane, Nkayi and Filabusi to bus in supporters to boast attendance in fear of apathy from the Bulawayo Province members who are generally against Tsvangirai clinging into power.

Some reports within the party claim that most of Bulawayo Province executive members and MPs have excused themselves from attending the meeting. It is said that most of the MDC-T leadership is not happy with the way Tsvangirai roped in Job Sikhala without consulting the National Executive and promising him the position of Secretary General before congress and before Tendai Biti the incumbent has even left the position or party.

The Bulawayo executive is also said to be upset that the entire programme of the rally will be run by Tsvangirai and his friends from Harare as no one from Bulawayo is likely to be given a chance to address the rally.

According to reports, Tsvangirai is organising the rallies himself using only those people whom he trusts as he is using the rallies to drum up support for himself against the renewal faction. It is because of this that not everyone is being given a chance to address the rallies except for those around him.