Chamisa cancels his party's parliamentary caucus meeting

OPPOSITION MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has cancelled his party's parliamentary caucus meeting scheduled for today to allow members to attend the burial of their late founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai's younger brother, Casper, who died in Kwekwe on Saturday.

The meeting, according to officials, had been called to direct all candidates who participated in the just-ended elections to go back to the grassroots and increase the party's visibility on the ground ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Party spokesperson Jacob Mafume confirmed the development yesterday, saying Chamisa had to call off the meeting to allow members to attend the burial at Tsvangirai's rural home in Buhera today.

"The president, Nelson Chamisa, was due to meet with the parliamentary caucus to discuss our parliamentary agenda, but we have to attend the funeral," he said.

MDC Alliance youth leader Happymore Chidziva said the death of Tsvangirai's sibling had left the party poorer, as it came eight months after the former Prime Minister succumbed to cancer of the colon and received a State-assisted funeral.

Two months after the fiery trade unionist's death, the Tsvangirais lost another family member, Miriro.

"Over the past months, the Tsvangirai family and, indeed, the greater MDC family has been going through grief following the death of our icon and leader and other members of the family.

We join them in mourning and we will, indeed, be in Buhera for the burial tomorrow [today]," he said.

The MDC Alliance, in a statement, said Casper had helped fund the fight for democracy in the country and was among other party heroes.

"Despite being a businessperson, he selflessly fought for the underprivileged, a not so fashionable step in the private sector. We applaud him for taking the risk and adding his weight on behalf of the voiceless," the statement read.