CONFESSION: How Tsvangirayi used me to label Welshman Ncube a CIO

In a startling revelation on X (formerly Twitter), opposition activist Freeman Chari opened up about his past role as a "hired gun" within the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), shedding light on how he was used by the late founding President Morgan Tsvangirai to undermine and fight fellow opposition leaders who had fallen out of favor with him.

Chari disclosed that in 2004, during a period of internal strife within the MDC, he was commissioned by Tsvangirai to target and discredit then-party official Job Sikhala, who had fallen out of favor with the MDC leader. This revelation provides a rare glimpse into the internal dynamics and power struggles within the opposition party during that time.

"For those asking why I am giving Prof (Welshman Ncube) and TB (Tendai Biti) the benefit of doubt, it's because at one point I was also a youth. I was a hired gun when MT (Morgan Tsvangirai) fell out with Job (Sikhala) in 2004. I know how it works," Chari confessed in his X post.

Chari went on to disclose that he played a similar role in 2005 when Tsvangirai and former MDC Secretary General Professor Welshman Ncube had a fallout. According to Chari, he was tasked with branding Ncube as a project of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), alleging that he was sponsored to infiltrate and destroy the opposition party.

Welshman Ncube was called a CIO project, he was called a Zanu PF project, Tendai Biti and Mangoma were accused of being CIO projects. But at no point did they ever use the police or state apparatus to fight their former colleagues in the opposition. I hope you see the difference

— Nqaba Matshazi (@nqabamatshazi) May 11, 2020

"We called Prof a CIO, and it took 10 years for both to realize unity was more important than their desires for power. We should not go through that again," Chari stated, urging current opposition leaders not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Expressing his discontent with the current treatment of Professor Ncube, Chari urged leaders within the opposition, specifically mentioning Nelson Chamisa, Welshman Ncube, and Tendai Biti, to address their internal conflicts transparently.

For those asking why I am giving Prof and TB the benefit of doubt, it's because at one point I was also a youth. I was a hired gun when MT fell out with Job in 2004. I know how it works. I was one of the 1st pple in MT's office after the 2005 split. We called Prof a CIO & it took…

— Freeman (@freemanchari) December 15, 2023

"I am really not happy with the way you guys are treating Prof Ncube," Chari lamented, highlighting Ncube's past contributions, such as efficiently distributing Adopt Polling Station funds during a critical election period.

Chari called for leaders to prioritize unity over personal desires for power and encouraged them to resolve their issues through open dialogue.