News / National
'Tsvangirai just another Idi Amin,' says rivals
10 Nov 2014 at 08:21hrs | Views
The MDC renewal team has described MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai like "just another Idi Amin", intolerant to challenge, personalising a movement and a hypocrite who preaches what he does not practice.
In a hard-hitting view of how he saw the just-ended MDC-T congress, MDC renewal spokesperson Jacob Mafume said it was a shame that Tsvangirai descended into the arena ensuring that people pre-occupied by "praising and worshipping" him won positions at the expense of serious politicians meant to improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Most losing candidates in the latest MDC congress accused their leadership of favouritism and undemocratic practices during the elective congress of the opposition party, the only one to pose a firm challenge to the ruling Zanu PF before it was trounced in the 2013 general elections.
Following that defeat, MDC-T split when then deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma wrote a letter asking Tsvangirai to resign.
Former secretary-general Tendai Biti joined Mangoma and fired Tsvangirai and his other executives from the party before forming the renewal team which has since been joined by a number of dissatisfied members, including some legislators.
Urban and Rural district councils dominated by the opposition party have been split between the two formations of the MDC.
"Their congress was of illegitimate people and it had three pointers which were being undemocratic; centralisation of power and surrendering all party assets to an individual who preaches what he cannot practice and this goes on to show what we have always been saying about this man (Tsvangirai)," Mafume said in an interview yesterday.
"He (Tsvangirai) is not in power yet, but is already creating a Banana Republic and in him we see Idi Amin or Mobutu Sese Seko, there is no distinction between them except that he is not ruling any country and also that the other two are dead."
Idi Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 after toppling president Milton Obote in a military coup. He killed 300 000 Ugandans he perceived to be in opposition to consolidating his power. Mobutu Seseseko ruled Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under similar circumstances from 1965 to 1997 after deposing Joseph Kasavubu and eliminating Pan Africanist Patrice Lumumba.
Mafume said youthful Kuwadzana legislator Nelson Chamisa, who lost the post of secretary-general to then party spokeperson Douglas Mwonzora, like Lumumba, had been sacrificed because he showed potential of being a successor to Tsvangirai.
"Chamisa's crime, unfortunately, was showing potential of taking over from Tsvangirai, we are talking of a person who frustrated Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri and now Nelson Chamisa, this is who he is, he does not want anyone who can succeed him and so what are we saying about being democratic (sic)?" asked Mafume.
"So Tsvangirai surrounds himself with people who worship him and he is busy making himself bigger than the party which is his undoing. We cannot have an individual who wants to be bigger than an organisation belonging to all Zimbabweans."
Mafume said Tsvangirai presented no alternative to the Zimbabwean population as he had already shown his dictatorial tendencies and was worse than Zanu PF.
The MDC-T circus would strengthen the renewal team, he said.
He said his party had not invited Chamisa to join them after his humiliation at the elective congress, but instead invited every Zimbabwean tired of the politics in both MDC-T and Zanu PF to join than stay in "decomposing" parties.
"We do not give any specific invitations because we believe all people are equal," he said adding what his party heard about Chamisa's intentions in the media was unsolicited for.
A former Beitbridge councillor and losing candidate in the MDC's elective congress, Patricia Mbedzi, yesterday described their elective congress as a "shame", considering it was being held by people who preached democracy.
"Most people who lost in provincial elections and were not supposed to vote were brought to the congress and were given voting powers by the president and we have never heard of this even in the monster we believe Zanu PF is," she said.
Efforts to get comment from Mwonzora and party spokesperson Obert Gutu were in vain.
In a hard-hitting view of how he saw the just-ended MDC-T congress, MDC renewal spokesperson Jacob Mafume said it was a shame that Tsvangirai descended into the arena ensuring that people pre-occupied by "praising and worshipping" him won positions at the expense of serious politicians meant to improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Most losing candidates in the latest MDC congress accused their leadership of favouritism and undemocratic practices during the elective congress of the opposition party, the only one to pose a firm challenge to the ruling Zanu PF before it was trounced in the 2013 general elections.
Following that defeat, MDC-T split when then deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma wrote a letter asking Tsvangirai to resign.
Former secretary-general Tendai Biti joined Mangoma and fired Tsvangirai and his other executives from the party before forming the renewal team which has since been joined by a number of dissatisfied members, including some legislators.
Urban and Rural district councils dominated by the opposition party have been split between the two formations of the MDC.
"Their congress was of illegitimate people and it had three pointers which were being undemocratic; centralisation of power and surrendering all party assets to an individual who preaches what he cannot practice and this goes on to show what we have always been saying about this man (Tsvangirai)," Mafume said in an interview yesterday.
"He (Tsvangirai) is not in power yet, but is already creating a Banana Republic and in him we see Idi Amin or Mobutu Sese Seko, there is no distinction between them except that he is not ruling any country and also that the other two are dead."
Idi Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 after toppling president Milton Obote in a military coup. He killed 300 000 Ugandans he perceived to be in opposition to consolidating his power. Mobutu Seseseko ruled Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under similar circumstances from 1965 to 1997 after deposing Joseph Kasavubu and eliminating Pan Africanist Patrice Lumumba.
Mafume said youthful Kuwadzana legislator Nelson Chamisa, who lost the post of secretary-general to then party spokeperson Douglas Mwonzora, like Lumumba, had been sacrificed because he showed potential of being a successor to Tsvangirai.
"Chamisa's crime, unfortunately, was showing potential of taking over from Tsvangirai, we are talking of a person who frustrated Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri and now Nelson Chamisa, this is who he is, he does not want anyone who can succeed him and so what are we saying about being democratic (sic)?" asked Mafume.
"So Tsvangirai surrounds himself with people who worship him and he is busy making himself bigger than the party which is his undoing. We cannot have an individual who wants to be bigger than an organisation belonging to all Zimbabweans."
Mafume said Tsvangirai presented no alternative to the Zimbabwean population as he had already shown his dictatorial tendencies and was worse than Zanu PF.
The MDC-T circus would strengthen the renewal team, he said.
He said his party had not invited Chamisa to join them after his humiliation at the elective congress, but instead invited every Zimbabwean tired of the politics in both MDC-T and Zanu PF to join than stay in "decomposing" parties.
"We do not give any specific invitations because we believe all people are equal," he said adding what his party heard about Chamisa's intentions in the media was unsolicited for.
A former Beitbridge councillor and losing candidate in the MDC's elective congress, Patricia Mbedzi, yesterday described their elective congress as a "shame", considering it was being held by people who preached democracy.
"Most people who lost in provincial elections and were not supposed to vote were brought to the congress and were given voting powers by the president and we have never heard of this even in the monster we believe Zanu PF is," she said.
Efforts to get comment from Mwonzora and party spokesperson Obert Gutu were in vain.
Source - Zim Mail
