HARARE – MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has reaffirmed that the former prime minister is doing well amid fake social media reports that he had passed on.
Tsvangirai, who is suffering from colon cancer, was recently flown to South Africa (SA) after his condition had reportedly deteriorated.
He has been to the neighbouring country numerous times since he publicly revealed that he was fighting the disease in June last year.
In September, the long-time President Robert Mugabe rival was air-lifted to SA, where he spent close to a month holed-up in a top-notch hospital.
Yesterday, Tamborinyoka told the Daily News that his boss was “fine”.
“We understand the anxiety of Zimbabweans but they must rest assured that their leader is fine and he is coming back soon. In our situation, it is understandable that I should not give dates and time frames, considering the political beast we have in this country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai has taken a backseat from the gruelling political duties due to his health condition, with some suggesting that he must retire completely from politics and appoint someone else in his place.
In the absence of the MDC leader, Tamborinyoka said that his three vice presidents — Thokhozani Khupe, Elias Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa — were taking care of party business.
He further said that as soon as Tsvangirai is back, he will be seized with issues to do with voter registration and to provide leadership to the key committees set up by the MDC Alliance — a coalition of seven political organisations that are set to battle it out with Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
“In the meantime, the leaders of the various committees are working on the ground to ensure work continues to take place. The three VPs are driving voter registration. So in his absence, serious work is taking place on the ground,” Tamborinyoka said, without giving finer details on when Tsvangirai will be back in the country citing security reasons.
However, some close sources claimed the former premier might be back in the country next week.
Tsvangirai is the only opposition leader that has ever won an election against 93-year-old Mugabe.
In the 2008 elections, Mugabe lost the presidential poll to Tsvangirai after he garnered 43 percent of the vote, while the MDC front man amassed 47 percent, in the process failing to get the constitutionally required 50 percent plus one vote to take over power. – Daily News