Mangoma files charges: Tsvangirai led me to slaughter, he says

Harare Bureau—
POLICE have been asked to investigate an attack on MDC-T deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma by youths aligned to party president, Morgan Tsvangirai. Mangoma, youth leader Promise Mkwananzi and secretary general Tendai Biti were attacked by a mob outside the party’s headquarters in Harare after a meeting with Tsvangirai.

Another youth leader, Solomon Madzore, had to beat a hasty retreat back into the party offices.
In an astonishing outburst, Mangoma – who was bloodied after having his shirt torn and spectacles destroyed in the assault – said Tsvangirai had “led me to slaughter”.

Apparently Mangoma, Biti and Tsvangirai had agreed to leave together in the same car – sensing that restive Tsvangirai loyalists gathered outside could seek to harm his rivals who are pushing calls for a leadership change.

Yesterday, chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said Mangoma had walked into a police station and filed a report.

“He has made the report today at Avondale Police Station and investigations are now in progress,” she said. In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Mangoma and Biti, party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora made attempts to lay the blame on Zanu-PF “infiltrators”.

He was savaged by the party’s losing candidate for Harare South Jacob Mafume who said Mwonzora blame-shifting was “insulting, nauseating, disgusting and tragic”.

By Sunday, the MDC-T had discarded the narrative that Mangoma had been attacked by hired outsiders with Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka vowing that party youths linked with the violence would “face the music”.

But Tamborinyoka insisted that his boss had nothing to do with the violence, adding: “For the avoidance of doubt, Tsvangirai has clean hands and a pure heart.”

He claimed it was Tsvangirai who had rescued both Biti and Mangoma. “The party president’s security staff took Mangoma to Tsvangirai’s car, where some youths yanked his shirt as they tried to pull him out of the vehicle. They were demanding an explanation as to why Mangoma was seeking to remove the president (Tsvangirai) outside the democratic forum of a congress,” Tamborinyoka said.

But Mangoma insisted that Tsvangirai had set him up for attack by his supporters.
“I was beaten straight in his face,” he said yesterday. “I wonder why he’s now lying. I don’t know what he wants to achieve but what I know is the whole thing was planned.”

Mangoma, along with several high-ranking MDC-T officials, called on Tsvangirai to step down after leading the party to electoral losses against Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2013.