MDC Alliance rocked by fresh divisions

FRESH divisions have emerged in the MDC Alliance in Bulawayo with reports that some officials raided offices belonging to Professor Welshman Ncube's old MDC demanding keys and an inventory of property at the premises.  

MDC Alliance, a coalition of parties including Prof Ncube's MDC ahead of the 2018 elections, amalgamated after the polls to form one party under Mr Nelson Chamisa. However, the party has failed to gel particularly in Bulawayo with sharp divisions laced with tribal undertones between a pro- Chamisa faction pitted against members of Prof Ncube's old MDC.

According to insiders, a group of MDC Alliance members purporting to be from the security department raided the former MDC offices along Herbert Chitepo and 13th Avenue claiming that they were being used to hold parallel programmes to the MDC Alliance.  

"There is general mistrust between members formerly from Ncube's MDC and those found under Chamisa. About three weeks ago, some members claiming to be from the security department met an official locking gates to the premises and accused him of holding secret meetings involving members of the former MDC," said a source.  

It is said the mistrust has been heightened by clashes in the election of provincial executive members and the recent selection of national executive council members with allegations of tribal bias.

The officials from Prof Ncube's former MDC are said to have been systematically shut out hence the suspicion that they are holding parallel meetings at the offices.

The source said the officials returned twice last week and on the second occasion demanded keys to the premises.  

"They came on Thursday and milled around the premises. They were in the company of a man whom they said was from the security department in Harare. They left and returned the following day claiming that they had been sent by secretary general, Charlton Hwende, to seize keys to the offices as they now fall under the MDC Alliance following the amalgamation of the two parties. They also demanded an inventory of the property in the offices," said the source.  

"After they were denied the keys, the group left saying they would return on Monday with paper work from Hwende sanctioning their actions but they did not return."

MDC Alliance Bulawayo provincial spokesperson, Mr Swithern Chirowodza, yesterday dismissed the reports.  

"Everything is in harmony, the source is trying to plant seeds of discord. Everyone is happy, there is no discord in the province, that (the reports) is the work of detractors through rumour mongering," he said. However, insiders insisted that things were not well in the party over a number of hanging issues.

"There is the hot issue of tribalism in the province that affected the provincial congress and the recent selection of members to the national executive council. The party is divided along tribal lines and until Chamisa acts decisively on the matter, these tensions will explode in his face one of these days," said the source.  

A recent meeting to elect members to form the party's national executive council turned violent as some disgruntled members accused the provincial executive of tribalism in the selection process.

A senior party member accused Mr Chamisa of sowing seeds of discord when he allegedly rigged the Bulawayo provincial elections before the party's congress last month to ensure his preferred candidates won.