News / National
Smear campaign against Khupe emerges
12 Mar 2018 at 07:46hrs | Views
An attempt to smear MDC-T vice President Thokozani Khupe has emerged with the culprits bent on scuppering Khupe's ascendancy to MDC-T Presidency.
The smear campaign in poorly done article from the Sunday Times alleges that President Mugabe called Thokozani Khupe to Blue Roof as Tsvangirai lay on his deathbed. It is understood that he offered Khupe a spot as one of the vice presidents in the outfit that he was planning - now known as New Patriotic Front.
Khupe has since denied the reports, she said, "If we are to believe propaganda in the media, then it follows that Chamisa is a Lacoste project who was offered the Prime Minister's post in a GNU."
A party insider told Bulawayo24News that the said meeting between Khupe and former President Robert Mugabe is a deliberate ploy by MDC-T faction linked to Nelson Chamisa to discredit Khupe as anything that links politicians with Mugabe has negative repercussions for any politician.
The embattled former deputy prime minister has since last year been locked in a vicious succession fight with Chamisa and has allegedly been assaulted three times by youth aligned to the new party leader.
The latest attack was at the MDC-T Bulawayo provincial offices on Sunday, where her aide, Witness Dube, was assaulted alongside 15 other activists during clashes with Chamisa's alleged allies.
Khupe has been vehemently opposed to the MDC Alliance that Tsvangirai forged with Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube. Under the Alliance agreement, Ncube's MDC would be allowed to choose the bulk of candidates to contest the parliamentary seats in Matebeleland.
This did not go down well with Khupe who felt that Tsvangirai was sacrifising her on the altar for little benefit. She then boycotted meetings with Tsvangirai for more than a year. By the time Tsvangirai died, Khupe had snubbed four meeting requests from Tsvangirai to iron out their differences.
A power struggle ensured at Tsvangirai's death with Khupe, Mudzuri and Chamisa claiming to be the legitimate leaders of MDC. Chamisa then called a National Council meeting that endorsed him as Acting President and 2018 Presidential candidate for MDC.
Khupe has withdrawn to Bulawayo - her percieved stronghold where she is mounting resistance against Chamisa presidency. She is expected to launch a splinter party in the next few days.
The MDC's highest decision-making body in between congresses, the national council, will meet soon to start formalities to expel Khupe and this smear is meant to solidify the council resolution to expel Khupe.
This follows the expiry of a seven-day ultimatum given to Khupe by the same organ to comply with an MDC directive to reach out and make peace with Nelson Chamisa, who was recently chosen as the party's substantive president.
Khupe - who has had to suffer violence at the hands of suspected MDC youths hostile to her hardliner stance against Chamisa - has refused to comply with the directive.
She insists she is the rightful heir to take-over from Morgan Tsvangirai, the late MDC founding president who died in South Africa last month.
Khupe has thus been tearing into Chamisa, describing him as a violent gangster who is not worth to lead the party.
MDC officials sympathetic to Khupe, however, said that she had made overtures to the MDC Guardian Council with the aim to get them to mediate in the impasse.
In terms of the MDC constitution, the Guardian Council acts as the party's advisory board.
It is chaired by MDC Senator Makore.
The bad blood between Khupe and Chamisa started in 2016 when Tsvangirai elevated the Kuwadzana West legislator to the position of vice president.
Since then, the crafty legislator, nicknamed The Cobra after the menacing serpent, has worked his way to the leadership of the party, effectively dealing Khupe a body blow.
Their relationship soured even more last month when Khupe had to take refuge in a hut during Tsvangirai's funeral to escape the wrath of MDC thugs who were baying for her blood before she was rescued by sympathisers.
More to follow...
The smear campaign in poorly done article from the Sunday Times alleges that President Mugabe called Thokozani Khupe to Blue Roof as Tsvangirai lay on his deathbed. It is understood that he offered Khupe a spot as one of the vice presidents in the outfit that he was planning - now known as New Patriotic Front.
Khupe has since denied the reports, she said, "If we are to believe propaganda in the media, then it follows that Chamisa is a Lacoste project who was offered the Prime Minister's post in a GNU."
If we are to believe propaganda in the media, then it follows that Chamisa is a Lacoste project who was offered the Prime Minister's post in a GNU.
— Khupe for Presidency (@Team_Khupe) March 11, 2018
A party insider told Bulawayo24News that the said meeting between Khupe and former President Robert Mugabe is a deliberate ploy by MDC-T faction linked to Nelson Chamisa to discredit Khupe as anything that links politicians with Mugabe has negative repercussions for any politician.
The embattled former deputy prime minister has since last year been locked in a vicious succession fight with Chamisa and has allegedly been assaulted three times by youth aligned to the new party leader.
The latest attack was at the MDC-T Bulawayo provincial offices on Sunday, where her aide, Witness Dube, was assaulted alongside 15 other activists during clashes with Chamisa's alleged allies.
Khupe has been vehemently opposed to the MDC Alliance that Tsvangirai forged with Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube. Under the Alliance agreement, Ncube's MDC would be allowed to choose the bulk of candidates to contest the parliamentary seats in Matebeleland.
This did not go down well with Khupe who felt that Tsvangirai was sacrifising her on the altar for little benefit. She then boycotted meetings with Tsvangirai for more than a year. By the time Tsvangirai died, Khupe had snubbed four meeting requests from Tsvangirai to iron out their differences.
A power struggle ensured at Tsvangirai's death with Khupe, Mudzuri and Chamisa claiming to be the legitimate leaders of MDC. Chamisa then called a National Council meeting that endorsed him as Acting President and 2018 Presidential candidate for MDC.
Khupe has withdrawn to Bulawayo - her percieved stronghold where she is mounting resistance against Chamisa presidency. She is expected to launch a splinter party in the next few days.
The MDC's highest decision-making body in between congresses, the national council, will meet soon to start formalities to expel Khupe and this smear is meant to solidify the council resolution to expel Khupe.
Khupe - who has had to suffer violence at the hands of suspected MDC youths hostile to her hardliner stance against Chamisa - has refused to comply with the directive.
She insists she is the rightful heir to take-over from Morgan Tsvangirai, the late MDC founding president who died in South Africa last month.
Khupe has thus been tearing into Chamisa, describing him as a violent gangster who is not worth to lead the party.
MDC officials sympathetic to Khupe, however, said that she had made overtures to the MDC Guardian Council with the aim to get them to mediate in the impasse.
In terms of the MDC constitution, the Guardian Council acts as the party's advisory board.
It is chaired by MDC Senator Makore.
The bad blood between Khupe and Chamisa started in 2016 when Tsvangirai elevated the Kuwadzana West legislator to the position of vice president.
Since then, the crafty legislator, nicknamed The Cobra after the menacing serpent, has worked his way to the leadership of the party, effectively dealing Khupe a body blow.
Their relationship soured even more last month when Khupe had to take refuge in a hut during Tsvangirai's funeral to escape the wrath of MDC thugs who were baying for her blood before she was rescued by sympathisers.
More to follow...
Source - online
