By Farai D Hove| The renegade former MDC Deputy President, Thokozani Khupe has caused whispers in Bulawayo following her rejecting of high profile pastors and elderly men and women concerning her rebellion against party leader Nelson Chamisa.
Khupe was the talk of the city between Monday and Tuesday with locals here remarking on how she has further strayed away from the MC-T party.
“She has started her own MDC but so far it exists in the a few people in Bulawayo, God knows who her members are outside the city of Kings, ” analyst Felix Banda said.
He added saying, “had she listened to those pastors who worked tirelessly to restore her in the party she would have been treated just like Mwonzora.
Last Friday it was revealed party leader Nelson Chamisa went the extra mile to engage Khupe the best way he could so to avoid a humiliating end for Khupe. This included travelling all the way to Bulawayo and spending over 5 hours in the same room with her. Sources in Khupe’s camp have corroborated on the below expose to ZimEye.
Chamisa also engaged pastors and high level Bishops to talk to Khupe.
Th party’s deputy chairman Morgan Komichi told ZimEye.com: “even after being instructed by the previous National Council to expel Hon Thokozani Khupe, he (Chamisa) did not; instead he asked the NC to give him more time so that he could engage with HON VP Khupe.
He went further to explain to ZimEye how, “after being given that authority by the NC President Chamisa went to set up a commission, a team of pastors, renowned personalities, Bishops to go to Bulawayo and engage madam Khupe in order to convince her to come back. Several meeting were set in between in which on the 17th March, President Chamisa travelled to Bulawayo and met with HON Khupe for more than 5 hours with mediators but nothing came out.
“Last weekend on Saturday, President Chamisa travelled to Gweru and waited for madam Thokozani Khupe to come from Bulawayo to come and meet President Chamisa. he waited for her up to 11pm, she was always saying she is in a meeting, she is going to come; but eventually she did not come. he came to Harare during this last week when parliament was on and made an appointment to meet her, again she did not come to the negotiating forum. However other leaders came who are in the parliament, MPs from Mat North and Bulawayo came, and also other leaders from the provincial executive of Mat North came and held a meeting with president Chamisa and confirmed their support and really assured President Chamisa that they were going to work with him.
“These are the people that really matter, because these are the people on the ground, even today in the National Council they attended. The entire delegation from Mat North province was in attendance. The entire delegation from Bulawayo was in attendance. The entire delegation from Mat South was in attendance in support of President Chamisa’s leadership. So whilst yes of course we were going to gain more if madam Thokozani’s had come back to the party, but what I am trying to say is that the impact will be very insignificant because the people that really matter are the people on the ground, in the districts, province, wards are in support of President Chamisa. That’s our position.”
Meanwhile, concerning Khipe’s meeting last Sunday, the Bulawayo province’s spokesman Felix Sibanda told ZimEye.com, “the MDC T Bulawayo province has been vindicated that Khupe had a rented crowd composed of apostles, civic society organizations, and dubious or bogus political parties . These bogus political parties had tribal solidarity which is counteroffensive, counterproductive and retrogressive to say the least Instead of uniting with other like minded political parties Khupe has chosen to work with reactionaries. The irony is that Khupe is anti MDC Alliance but choice to work with ZANU PF and dubious and tribal groupings.
“We as MDC T are calling our members to be steadfast and be peaceful and continue with registration as voters and adhere to the party constitution and all party resolutions.”