Tsvangirai forgives rebels

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday extended an olive branch to internal rebels pushing for his ouster as he welcomed the party's prodigal son Job Sikhala back into the movement.

MDC 99 leader Job Sikhala and chairman of another splinter MDC faction, Jobert Mudzumwe, yesterday abandoned their parties and rejoined MDC-T.

The MDC-T leader told a press conference at the party's Harvest House headquarters that all party officials needed to be in one big tent as party fights for positive change in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

He said he was  not a hostage to "revenge", in the wake of a decision by his party to suspend a senior official who had asked the opposition leader to quit, a move which has divided a party recovering from a devastating election defeat last year.

MDC-T, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, has been ravaged by factional fighting and violence. Sikhala and Mudzumwe were paraded to the media in Harare at MDC-T's headquarters.

Secretary-general Tendai Biti - who is reported to be opposed to Tsvangirai's leadership - was absent.
Sikhala and Mudzumwe could not say if their supporters would follow them to Mr Tsvangirai, with the former MDC 99 president simply saying "they will follow their leaders".

Tsvangirai welcomed the two saying: "These are colleagues with whom we have walked in the struggle but at some point had pursued other political options. I have had intense discussions with these two colleagues and many others and we have agreed that we all need to be in one tent as we fight for positive change in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

"Today we obliterate the premature obituaries of this great movement. We showcase the dexterity with which we have outmanoeuvred our political opponents who have underestimated our capacity to organise a common front of one big family of fighters for democratic change."