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Albert Chavhunduka Harare Bureau
ACTING MDC-T chairperson of the party’s Guardian Council Sekai Holland says she was forced by the Morgan Tsvangirai faction to read a wrong statement from the council’s meeting held last week because she feared the “militia” that was present. In an interview yesterday, Holland said her priority was to protect lives of the members of the council from Tsvangirai’s supporters after they attended the meeting held on Wednesday and Thursday.
She distanced herself from the statement she read lashing out at the party’s faction led by secretary-general Tendai Biti, saying she read it under duress.
This came as it emerged that the Tsvangirai faction manipulated and altered resolutions of the council’s meeting to suit its agenda.
“I was scared for the safety of the members of the Guardian Council and I wanted them to get into their buses and go home,” said Holland.
“Today (yesterday) they have all arrived, so I can give people the correct thing which happened because we have now been empowered to do our job which is to bring people together and win the next elections which we can.”
Holland added: “To us Mr Tendai Biti is the secretary-general of the party and Tsvangirai is the president that’s why after we met, we went to see the president and we gave him the statement.
“He made some changes and then the office brought out this statement which I read under duress because there were all these militia and for the safety of the Guardian Council members who were travelling, I wanted them to get home well after doing a brilliant job.”
Holland said the members of the Guardian Council were being threatened with violence since the beginning of their two-day meeting.
“We had militia there and what was the militia for?” she said.
“You, the youths, know that you were there to beat up people, so I didn’t want my colleagues beaten up and we have been threatened with violence throughout the meeting.”
In the original statement, the council clarified its position as a sole mediator between the warring parties in the MDC-T.
Spokesperson of the MDC Renewal Team led by Biti, Jacob Mafume, blamed the Tsvangirai faction for violating the independence of the Guardian Council.
Online Reporter