Mangoma insists Tsvangirai has no capacity to rule

Suspended MDC-T deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma Wednesday came out guns blazing saying the leadership renewal war was far from over. He insisted Morgan Tsvangirai does not have the capacity to lead the party or the country and should step down.

"I don't want to be blamed by future generations, I don't want to be judged for misleading the people into accepting him (Tsvangirai) as a leader, I worked with him, I know him, he has no capacity, he is not fit," Mangoma told The Zimbabwe Mail.

"He must step down.  I meant just that, that is why I signed the letter I gave to him, I stand by that."

Commenting a day after the widely publicised "harmony in the MDC-T cockpit" announcement by Tsvangirai,  Mangoma said it was not true the hatchet had been buried and insisted the war to remove Tsvangirai was far from over.

He said it was unfortunate Tsvangirai ran to the press without resolving burning issues in the party.

"That's the tragedy of it, they run to the press without proper consultations," Mangoma said.

"This was not communicated to me, so how is the hatchet buried when I, the most affected, have to see it in the press?"

The MDC-T national council early this month suspended Mangoma as the deputy treasurer-general of the party allegedly for speaking with the press without following proper channels.

He was accused of undermining the authority of the party's national executive by granting various interviews with the local and international press and acting in a manner that was prejudicial to the interests of the party in that his demeanor and attitude were not in tandem with the MDC's position that last year's elections were stolen.

But Mangoma believed he was suspended for publicly calling Tsvangirai to step down. First he wrote a letter privately calling for leadership renewal to save MDC-T from collapse. He was later severely assaulted at the MDC-T Harvest House headquarters after a party meeting to discuss his letter.

After the assault, he wrote a letter where he accused Tsvangirai of masterminding the attack and also alleged that the former trade unionist was in violation of the party constitution.

He was subsequently suspended from the party pending a disciplinary hearing.

A purge of provincial executives that were perceived to be sympathetic to Mangoma then ensued, leading to chaos in Manicaland, Matabeleland North and South.

Other officials that have been linked to the leadership renewal calls include Bulawayo South MP Eddie Cross, former organising secretary Ellias Mudzuri and exiled treasurer general Roy Bennett. There have been calls to bring the MDC-T congress due in 2016 forward to settle the dispute.

"It's only cowardice, they first suspended me and the charges were brought two weeks later, can't you see something is wrong there? They should have charged me then suspend me, it's the proper way," Mangoma said, adding that bringing the charges later only showed that they had something to hide.

Mangoma said suspending him was designed to distance him from the structures in the event a congress was called for soon, but he had already planned to counter that with strategies he would not reveal now.

"I have a strategy, I won't say it now otherwise it will be compromised," said Mangoma.

His utterances flew straight in the face of Tsvangirai's claims that peace had returned to the MDC-T when he addressed a press conference in Harare on Tuesday flanked by secretary-general Tendai Biti, a senior party member considered to be part of hawks in the MDC-T who want the former premier to step down.

Biti has since declared Mangoma's suspension unconstitutional, null and void.

Meanwhile, Mangoma has dismissed charges that he embezzled party funds to launch his presidential bid as a smear campaign.

Mangoma was suspended by the MDC-T for allegedly contravening the party's code of conduct and bringing the party into disrepute.

He stands accused of using party funds to influence and bribe party structures to ascend to the presidency as well as organising and participating in factional activities.

Mangoma yesterday said he was baffled at how his party took so long to present the charges. He dismissed charges that he embezzled party funds to bribe and influence party structures.