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Tsvangirai set to impose Sikhala
21 Oct 2014 at 06:03hrs | Views
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday moved quickly to pacify disgruntled 'prodigal son' Job Sikhala, whose bid to gate-crush into the top echelons of the party suffered a still birth at the weekend.
High level sources confirmed Tsvangirai had called Sikhala, moments after his MDC-T national executive resolved to confine Sikhala to the lower reaches of the party, "at least up to the national executive and not the standing committee".
"Tsvangirai called Sikhala and assured him he would do all he can to get him to contest the position he has been nominated for (deputy organising secretary)," The Zimbabwe Mail heard yesterday.
Tamborinyoka could neither deny nor confirm whether the ex-prime minister had, indeed, met Sikhala.
"What I can tell you is that Sikhala is a member of the party and the president of the party is free to meet any member of the party at any time he wants," said Tamborinyoka.
Returnee Sikhala all day yesterday skirted commenting on the matter.
"I am in a meeting and would be available to talk to you in 30 minutes," was Sikhala's answer from mid-morning to early evening.
After the national executive resolution, Sikhala vowed: "I am not going anywhere."
"If they thought I would go anywhere they have another thing coming. I will appeal to the national council and if that does not work I will appeal to congress directly. That would humiliate a few people, they should have done everything in their power to make sure I lose at congress or better still, they should have found ways of barring me from being nominated," said a defiant Sikhala.
A founding member of the party, Sikhala left Tsvangirai's faction following the party's first split in October 2005, had problems with another faction leader Welshman Ncube who led the break-away and went on to front an obscure mini-political party that went by the name MDC99, before his damascene moment in April this year.
Sikhala's return, reportedly at Tsvangirai's pleading, was meant to show up the veteran opposition strongman's fortunes hit hard by another debilitating split, this time fronted by another secretary-general, Tendai Biti and deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, in the aftermath of the July 2013 poll loss to Zanu PF.
High level sources confirmed Tsvangirai had called Sikhala, moments after his MDC-T national executive resolved to confine Sikhala to the lower reaches of the party, "at least up to the national executive and not the standing committee".
"Tsvangirai called Sikhala and assured him he would do all he can to get him to contest the position he has been nominated for (deputy organising secretary)," The Zimbabwe Mail heard yesterday.
Tamborinyoka could neither deny nor confirm whether the ex-prime minister had, indeed, met Sikhala.
"What I can tell you is that Sikhala is a member of the party and the president of the party is free to meet any member of the party at any time he wants," said Tamborinyoka.
"I am in a meeting and would be available to talk to you in 30 minutes," was Sikhala's answer from mid-morning to early evening.
After the national executive resolution, Sikhala vowed: "I am not going anywhere."
"If they thought I would go anywhere they have another thing coming. I will appeal to the national council and if that does not work I will appeal to congress directly. That would humiliate a few people, they should have done everything in their power to make sure I lose at congress or better still, they should have found ways of barring me from being nominated," said a defiant Sikhala.
A founding member of the party, Sikhala left Tsvangirai's faction following the party's first split in October 2005, had problems with another faction leader Welshman Ncube who led the break-away and went on to front an obscure mini-political party that went by the name MDC99, before his damascene moment in April this year.
Sikhala's return, reportedly at Tsvangirai's pleading, was meant to show up the veteran opposition strongman's fortunes hit hard by another debilitating split, this time fronted by another secretary-general, Tendai Biti and deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, in the aftermath of the July 2013 poll loss to Zanu PF.
Source - Zim Mail
