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Mwonzora 'secret' chats with Jonathan Moyo leaked
24 Jun 2021 at 10:51hrs | Views
MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora has been exposed in leaked WhatsApp messages in which he was begging for sponsorship from former Zanu PF minister Jonathan Moyo to fight MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mwonzora broke ranks with the MDC Alliance after the Supreme Court ruled in March last year that Chamisa was not the bona fide leader of the opposition party. He joined hands with Thokozani Khupe whom he later toppled at an extraordinary congress in December 2020.
Since he took over as the MDC-T leader, Mwonzora has reached out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, saying he subscribed to politics of dialogue.
He has accused Chamisa of working with G40, a Zanu PF faction comprising of former ministers Saviour Kasukuwere, Moyo, Walter Mzembi, among others.
But Moyo on Tuesday let the cat out of the bag, claiming that Mwonzora's beef with G40 stemmed from his failure to get funding to fight Chamisa.
Moyo also disclosed that Mwonzora had been meeting Zanu PF bigwigs when he was still MDC Alliance secretary-general, scheming to destroy the main opposition party even before the 2018 elections.
He had been chatting with Moyo since February 2018 where he inquired whether the late former President Robert Mugabe was indeed behind Chamisa and the most revealing were the chats of April 12, 2018.
"I really want to fight this guy (Chamisa). I want to field my team for Parliament and local government. Further, I want to prepare for the 2019 congress. Can you help me find a sponsor? I will definitely win. I have the majority," Mwonzora wrote to Moyo.
The MDC-T leader's spokesperson Lloyd Damba yesterday described the alleged chats as fake.
"They are unauthentic. Do I need to say anything more than that?" Damba said.
However, MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo said the new development should not surprise anyone as Mwonzora had always worked with Zanu PF since the time he joined the MDC.
"The writing is on the wall. Everyone can see that Zanu PF has been working with Dougie (Mwonzora) since coming into the movement in 2005. He has been working with them to derail and delay change," Hlatywayo said.
Political analyst Methuseli Moyo said if the chats were true, they portray Mwonzora as an ambitious turncoat.
"The chats somehow confirm what Mwonzora's critics have always said about him, that he dines with their rivals the ruling party. It's difficult to conclude, but clearly his actions don't seem to advance the opposition agenda."
Two weeks ago, Mwonzora secretly met Mnangagwa and asked the Zanu PF leader to consider scrapping pending by-elections. He also proposed a new dialogue platform between MDC-T and Zanu PF to be known as the Parliamentary Dialogue Forum that would exclude Chamisa.
Mwonzora has repeatedly refuted allegations that he is a Zanu PF puppet, but indicated his eagerness to work with the ruling party.
Mwonzora broke ranks with the MDC Alliance after the Supreme Court ruled in March last year that Chamisa was not the bona fide leader of the opposition party. He joined hands with Thokozani Khupe whom he later toppled at an extraordinary congress in December 2020.
Since he took over as the MDC-T leader, Mwonzora has reached out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, saying he subscribed to politics of dialogue.
He has accused Chamisa of working with G40, a Zanu PF faction comprising of former ministers Saviour Kasukuwere, Moyo, Walter Mzembi, among others.
But Moyo on Tuesday let the cat out of the bag, claiming that Mwonzora's beef with G40 stemmed from his failure to get funding to fight Chamisa.
Moyo also disclosed that Mwonzora had been meeting Zanu PF bigwigs when he was still MDC Alliance secretary-general, scheming to destroy the main opposition party even before the 2018 elections.
He had been chatting with Moyo since February 2018 where he inquired whether the late former President Robert Mugabe was indeed behind Chamisa and the most revealing were the chats of April 12, 2018.
"I really want to fight this guy (Chamisa). I want to field my team for Parliament and local government. Further, I want to prepare for the 2019 congress. Can you help me find a sponsor? I will definitely win. I have the majority," Mwonzora wrote to Moyo.
"They are unauthentic. Do I need to say anything more than that?" Damba said.
However, MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo said the new development should not surprise anyone as Mwonzora had always worked with Zanu PF since the time he joined the MDC.
"The writing is on the wall. Everyone can see that Zanu PF has been working with Dougie (Mwonzora) since coming into the movement in 2005. He has been working with them to derail and delay change," Hlatywayo said.
Political analyst Methuseli Moyo said if the chats were true, they portray Mwonzora as an ambitious turncoat.
"The chats somehow confirm what Mwonzora's critics have always said about him, that he dines with their rivals the ruling party. It's difficult to conclude, but clearly his actions don't seem to advance the opposition agenda."
Two weeks ago, Mwonzora secretly met Mnangagwa and asked the Zanu PF leader to consider scrapping pending by-elections. He also proposed a new dialogue platform between MDC-T and Zanu PF to be known as the Parliamentary Dialogue Forum that would exclude Chamisa.
Mwonzora has repeatedly refuted allegations that he is a Zanu PF puppet, but indicated his eagerness to work with the ruling party.
Source - NewsDay
