MDC-T president, Thokozani Khupe has described former allies within the Nelson Chamisa led MDC as a resemblance of Zanu PF’s G40 faction which was hounded out of the ruling party during the November 2017 military coup against former President Robert Mugabe.
In a statement Friday, Khupe was quoted as saying, “I have had extensive consultations with different stakeholders and constituencies and all are determined to take our party back from the toxic claws of the infamous G40.”
G40 was a Zanu PF faction once fronted by Mugabe’s wife, Grace and was rooting for a change of guard from the older generation that includes war veterans, to that of a younger crop of leaders.
Then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa led the triumphant Team Lacoste that had military backing, later muscling its way into power with military support.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa had his presidential campaign last year endorsed by a group of former Zanu PF politicians who had fallen by the wayside after being associated with G40.
These include ex-president Mugabe who revealed he was voting for Chamisa as the country’s next leader.
Meanwhile, in her response to Khuphe, outgoing MDC national chair Thabitha Khumalo said by likening her party to G40, the ex-deputy prime minister meant she herself belonged to Mnangagwa’s Team Lacoste.
“Why is madam Khupe interested in Zanu PF politics and terms?
“In any case, what is wrong in young people getting leadership positions? From her statement, it is clear that she is a fanatic of Lacoste policies which have destroyed this country,” said the Bulawayo legislator.
Khupe also told the state media that preparations for an extraordinary congress are at an advanced stage in line with a recent High Court judgment which nullified MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s appointment as president of the MDC.
