'Chamisa in renewed bid to woo Khupe'

THE Thokozani Khupe-led faction of the MDC-T has claimed that main opposition MDC-T leader Nelson Chamisa had sent his emissaries to open fresh negotiations for reunification ahead of the nomination court's Thursday sitting to register candidates for next month's general elections.

The two camps broke up early this year and went their separate ways with both Chamisa and Khupe fighting over party leadership following the death of its founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai in February.

In an interview yesterday, Khupe's deputy Obert Gutu claimed that Chamisa's emissaries had been knocking on Khupe's doors since last week, but he declined to name them.
"Yes, they have used some highly-placed emissaries to get in touch with us seeking a 're-unification'. What we know for certain is that our former colleagues cannot be trusted," he said.

"In the past, they have exhibited shocking levels of intolerance, hatred, malice and vindictiveness. We have got absolutely no appetite to re-unite with people who are neither honest nor sincere. We are not desperate at all.

"Our party is growing in leaps and bounds and we are perfectly happy with the trajectory that we have taken. Anyone who writes us off as a non-factor in Zimbabwean politics will be utterly shocked when the election results are announced," he said, adding his group had effectively shut the door on Chamisa.

"There's a snowball's chance in hell of us re-uniting with people who cannot be trusted. In fact, it is only when human life is found to exist on planet Jupiter that we will re-unite with those people. As long as our erstwhile colleagues are not entirely forthright and honest, we have got no appetite to even consider a reconciliation where there is clear and unequivocal evidence that the prospects of a reconciliation are close to zero," he said.

But MDC-T spokesperson, Tabitha Khumalo, dismissed Gutu's claims as cheap politicking.

"Everything that we do as a party is above board. Our resolution is clear that anyone who is interested in joining the alliance of like-minded people they are all welcome. How can we send emissaries yet we expelled them. Is that possible, the nomination court is sitting on Thursday and what is the point of seeking to engage them. We expelled them and I don't know where they are getting that from," she said.