By Nyashadzashe Majoni | If there is one political personality who has been struggling to get enough sleep in recent times, it certainly must be the motor-mouth second vice-president of the Nelson Chamisa-led main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, Tendai Biti.

The 57-year-old Harare East parliamentarian has been at the center of a storm after a secret girlfriend he reportedly groomed and later hid for three months at his plush Highlands house in the capital, Harare, exposed the opposition leader’s abusive tendencies in a video clip that has since gone viral across the social networking divide.

So terribly agonizing have the shameful exposes become for Biti, that he is now said to be sending abusive messages to his estranged sit-in-lover, identified as Maona Garaga, via WhatsApp.

Revelations are that the lawyer-cum-political-figure has also offered money to his defiant, whistleblowing former secret lover in a bid to ‘silence her’ from going out publicly over the matter.

“Thus far we have received an offer from that man (Biti), you know, to be given money to stop talking. I had not known the power that (he) holds, that your life could be in danger

In the video, Maona made sensational allegations, claiming that the CCC deputy leader, who once served as Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister during the tenure of the inclusive government, did not only force her to change her mobile number, but also barred her from visiting her parents during the three months Biti was hiding her in the leafy Highlands suburb.

speaking out… Biti’s alleged secret lover Maona Garaga

“I stayed there (Biti’s house), for a long long time,” alleges Maona.

“So, now he told me (that) I had to change my number (and also that) I had to stop visiting my parents,” she added.

feeling debased… Maona Garaga’s mother

It has also emerged that, in the pursuit of reining in the resultant animosity between the Maona’s family and himself, Biti at one time dispatched his uncle, and a one Scott, as emissaries to the Garaga’s residence tentatively to ‘come up with a proposal to make peace’ through dialogue.

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But, in diametric contrast to the CCC legislator’s expectations, his emissaries had a hostile confrontation with the mother of his secret lover, who was warned by the pair in an audio she secretly recorded that:

“There may arise a lot of issues (if the two parties failed to amicably settle their differences)”.

While contending that the ‘damage (on Biti) was done’, his uncle could also be heard saying that:

“We are striving to make sure it doesn’t persist”

To avoid a situation whereby Maona could further damage his already battered reputation, the former cabinet minister reportedly sent the girl to neighbouring South Africa and also forced her to get a new phone.

during happier times… Maona and Tendai Biti

Biti who has perennially made use of his highly-subscribed social media pages to clear his name of wrongdoing in both political and private-life matters, has been puzzlingly silent on the saga- a move that expressly gives authenticity to the girl’s claims.