The convention of Matabeleland based Civic Society Organisations operating under the Matabeleland Collective banner is facing an imminent split or collapse following their much talked about meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently.
Highly placed sources within the organisation told ZimEye.com that the collective is involved in huge internal fights since the meeting with Mnangagwa to an extent that separate parallel meetings of the organisation are being held.
The sources indicated that the collective’s issues arose after some organisations in the region felt that the meeting with Mnangagwa was ill-timed and did not fully present the concerns of the region to the President.
Following the concerns on the meeting, the sources indicate that the issue boiled down to individual members questioning the credibility of the leadership of the collective amid rumours that some funds were being fed into the collective system from President Mnangagwa’s office without the knowledge of other members.
According to the highly placed sources, Bulawayo Province proportional representation Member of Parliament Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga of the Thokozani Khupe led splinter MDC is being used by the suspect leaders of the collective as a link with Mnangagwa’s office for the illicit funding.
Probed further, the sources claimed that the leadership of the collective has been working very close with members of the Central Intelligence Organisation who have developed a kin interest in the collective since the meeting with Mnangagwa.
The CIOs are reportedly having a major hand in splitting the collective as they are said to be reaching out to some of the members and giving them instructions on how to destabilise the collective whose initial idea was to push Mnangagwa to concede that he participated in the Gukurahundi atrocities and subsequently apologise for his role in the atrocities.
“The collective is heavily divided at the moment and some organisations are contemplating quitting altogether, ” said the sources.
“The main issue behind the division is around Mnangagwa’s meeting and how suddenly Matabeleland must be seen to be embracing him and not getting him to account on the region’s issues, ” added the sources.
“There is visible signs of money passing through between Mnangagwa and some of our members who are suddenly on a full force to try and get the Matabeleland Civil Society to be Mnangagwa’s voice to the marginalised people of the region.”
“Some of the top leaders of the collective have confessed to having direct talks with members of the CIO but refusing to honour up on what they were discussing which is very uncomfortable with some of us,” said the sources.
The known leader of the collective Jenny Williams could not immediately be reached for a comment on the matter.