Tsvangirai’s Wife Alleged To Have Confiscated His Passport To Try To Force Him To Step Down




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Elizabeth Macheka, the wife to Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition MDC-T party, is reported to have confiscated and withheld the former prime minister’s passport in a bid to force him to resign and step down.

As a result, Tsvangirai had to delay his trip to South Africa, where he is being treated for colon cancer. However, Tsvangirai resisted the pressure to sign a document which would have installed Nelson Chamisa as the new party leader.

Macheka is reported to have pushed for Tsvangirai to step down because she had received assurances from the military that Tsvangirai would be given his pension and other benefits for serving as prime minister in the government of national unity (GNU) between 2009 and 2013 if he handed power to Chamisa. Tsvangirai had to surrender his old passport to President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the courtesy visit after he was promised a diplomatic passport, which was later delivered to Macheka. Tsvangirai’s wife only released his passport after intervention from Tsvangirai’s allies.

Tsvangirai’s son Edwin attributed the delay in the trip to a “mix-up.” Said, Edwin:

Mainini Eliza had his passport. It appeared as if she had confiscated it but that was not the case. There was just a mix-up and it was resolved.

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka, on the other hand, dismissed the allegations saying:

That is nonsense. The president is in South Africa. I just spoke to him and he is alright. That is hogwash and anything else is hogwash.

Exiled Zanu-PF politician Patrick Zhuwao has claimed that the military is trying to influence MDC-T succession to ensure that Chamisa takes over.

More: The Standard