THE interim leadership of the MDC has been thrown into fresh turmoil after party youths assaulted acting leader Thokozani Khupe’s aide and some party workers in Harare on Monday.
This comes as the MDC continues to reel from its senseless bloodletting – which has seen Khupe and Nelson Chamisa being involved in a hammer and tongs tussle for the control of the party that was founded by its much-loved late leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
It also comes as Khupe has postponed the MDC’s planned and court-directed extra-ordinary congress indefinitely – which was set to be held on Friday next week, citing the ongoing national coronavirus lockdown.
Insiders told the Daily News yesterday that Khupe’s aide, Farai Masaiti, had been assaulted by some party youths on Monday at the main opposition’s iconic Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (MRT) House headquarters.
Earlier on Sunday, the youths – who are allegedly aligned to re-instated MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora – had also beaten up some cleaners who had been asked to tidy Khupe’s office.
The youths are allegedly harassing officials suspected to be backing other candidates in the race for the leadership of the party.
“Team Mwonzora is blocking all party members who have shown their support for other leaders from entering Harvest House (MRT).
“On Monday, they attacked a presidential aide, Fatso. On Sunday, they also assaulted some party members who had been sent to clean the president’s (Khupe’s) office.
“This is being done by the youths who took over the national offices from the MDC Alliance,” one of the insiders claimed.
Khupe’s spokesperson Khaliphani Phugeni would neither confirm nor deny the developments when he was approached by the Daily News yesterday, but admitted that the MDC was grappling with its ongoing internal challenges.
“Violence is a problem we are facing and it is condemned in the strongest terms. I will have to find out about the incidents you are referring to.
“It could have been brought up in the standing committee during the time I was addressing a press conference (on Tuesday),” Phugeni said.
The MDC’s acting chairperson, Morgen Komichi, said the matter would be investigated.
“The matter will be thoroughly investigated and if it is found to be true, those behind the assaults will be brought to book because we want to build a party anchored on constitutionalism and tolerance. We cannot condon violence,” he said.
This comes as the cracks within Khupe’s interim leadership are said to be widening.
All this comes as Khupe and Chamisa have been involved in an ugly brawl for the control of the party ever since the death of Tsvangirai from colon cancer in February 2018.
The fights took a turn for the worse after the Supreme Court upheld an earlier High Court ruling in March, which nullified Chamisa’s hotly-disputed ascendancy to the helm of the MDC following Tsvangirai’s death.
The factional wars escalated even further after Khupe seized the party’s iconic MRT House – allegedly with the assistance of State security forces.
In addition, Khupe has also recalled 21 MPs and senators from Parliament, as she has flexed her muscles in the mindless infighting.
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