Business Times|The opposition MDC Alliance has severed ties with its members that were posted to diplomatic missions and are refusing to leave their posts
as the party scales up its fight against President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Among those disowned by the MDC Alliance are former MPs James Maridadi and Hilda Suka-Mafudze who took up diplomatic posts.

Maridadi was appointed ambassador to Senegal last year.

Suka-Mafudze has been a diplomat since 2010 and was last year appointed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Malawi.

Before the latest appointment, she was Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Sudan.
The MDC led by Nelson Chamisa has indicated that it was not going to allow
any of its senior party members to work in any capacity in President Mnangagwa’s administration.

The opposition party failed to recognise Mnangagwa saying he is a beneficiary of vote rigging despite
the Constitutional Court throwing out MDC’s challenge to the results
of 2018 Presidential elections.

The spokesperson of the Chamisa led party, Daniel Molokele, confirmed the party’s leadership had made a decision to cut its relationship with any senior member associating with the government.

“We had asked our senior members not to work for the government in any capacity and the senior party members Maridadi and Mafudze refused to cooperate with the party directive despite being asked not to take up their diplomatic posts,” Molokele said.

“We have a dispute with the Mnangagwa administration and we don’t recognise his legitimacy and we don’t expect any of our senior party
members to recognise him as the legitimate president.”

Maridadi and Mafudze are former legislators for Mabvuku and Mhondoro constituencies respectively.
Maridadi was also a former spokesperson for Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai. Mafudze has been a senior MDC Women
Assembly leader since 2000.

But David Musabayana, Foreign Affairs and International Trade
deputy minister said the two diplomats were working for the
government and not for any political party.

“Our ambassadors work for the country not for any political
party and are doing a good job in representing us in the foreign
countries where they are stationed,” Musabayana said.

During the inclusive government which ran from 2009 to 2013, the
two MDC formations were allowed to nominate candidates who would
represent Zimbabwe in diplomatic missions. Suka-Mafudze, alongside
the late Trudy Stevenson, Hebson Makuvise, Jacqueline Zwambila
and Mabel Ngulani were appointed Ambassadors for Sudan, Senegal,
Germany, Australia and Nigeria respectively.