THE MDC leadership including acting President Thokozani Khupe, Secretary-General Douglas Mwonzora and National Chairperson Morgen Komichi yesterday visited the Morgan Tsvangirai homestead in rural Buhera to make formal apologies to Gogo Tsvangirai over the manner she was treated at the funeral of founding party leader Morgan Tsvangirai in February 2018.
Gogo Tsvangirai, Khupe and Mwonzora are some of the people who suffered abuse and threats of physical assault by a militant wing of the MDC youth assembly the funeral of Tsvangirai as temperatures boiled over the way Nelson Chamisa had ascended to the top post in the party.
Yesterday’s visit, the party said in a statement, was to formally apologize to the elderly lady as well as offer her material support in the form of groceries for her welfare.
“The purpose of the visit was to give some items towards the welfare of Gogo Tsvangirai which included foodstuffs. It was also to formally apologize to the Tsvangirai family about the ill treatment that the old lady suffered at the hands of some youths including the vanguard during her son’s funeral,” the statement released after the visit reads.
According to the statement, all of Tsvangirai’s younger brothers including Collins and Manasa Tsvangirai were present, signifying that they recognize the Supreme Court ruling that declared Chamisa an illegitimate leader and restored the MDC to the 2014 structures, with Khupe emerging as the interim president.
Read the statement: “During Dr Tsvangirai’s funeral some rowdy youths vandalized Gogo Tsvangirai’s maize crop, carried posters portraying Gogo Tsvangirai as a monkey and threw a rope to her to “hang” herself. They also assaulted Tsvangirai’s young brother Collins.
“Gogo Tsvangirai said she felt respected by the leaders and thanked them for visiting her.”
After the meeting the leaders in the company of the Tsvangirai family members visited Tsvangirai’s gravesite where Khupe laid flowers.
The other leaders present were Morgen Komichi, Douglas Mwonzora and Elias Mudzuri.
The acceptance of the Khupe-led team into the Tsvangirai family unsettled members of the rival opposition camp led by Chamisa.
Pedzisayi Ruhanya, who belongs to the Chamisa camp, posited that Khupe and her team were onto some witchcraft rites at the graveside of the late Morgan Tsvangirai.
“Mwonzora MDC group have just left Buhera where they had some rituals there where they were chanting Nelson Chamisa name at Tsvangirai’s grave,” Ruhanya wrote on Twitter.
During the funeral of Morgan Tsvangirai, Gogo Tsvangirai at one time vowed she did not want Chamsia at her homestead, and was filmed threatening suicide if Chamisa set foot at the funeral. – Zimbabwe Voice
