adminTemba Dube Senior Reporter
MDC-T has been sharply divided along tribal lines in Bulawayo with two groups allegedly derogatorily referring to each other as amagundwane (rats) and amacimbi (edible mopane worms). The names have been allegedly coined with reference to stereotype tribal dietary preferences.Provincial chairperson Mr Gorden Moyo has been accused by party officials of fanning tribal hatred in the party through careless statements in the Press and during meetings.
MDC-T Bulawayo provincial secretary for research and policy, Mr Swithern Chirowodza yesterday issued a statement in which he launched a scathing attack on Mr Moyo, accusing him of tearing the party apart with tribal innuendos.
Mr Chirowodza was angered by a story in the Press, in which Mr Moyo used the phrase “rat and mouse” to dismiss MDC-T Magwegwe legislator, Mr Felix Magalela Mafa’s allegations of rigging during primary elections in the constituency.
“Gorden Moyo knows fully well that the phrase rat and mouse has been used in the last congress to insult a particular tribe within the MDC-T.
Gorden Moyo is clearly out of order. The position of Bulawayo provincial chairman for the MDC-T does not confer Gorden with a right to abuse party members in the Press,” said Mr Chirowodza.
He said it was deplorable that Mr Moyo used the “insult” in the Press, knowing its offensive context among MDC-T members in Bulawayo, to rubbish Mr Mafa. “It must be emphasised that there is no room in the party constitution, rules and guidelines, for the use of the Press to issue contemptuous statements against fellow comrades. Gorden Moyo is clearly out of order,” said Mr Chirowodza.
Officials in the party also alleged that Councillor Prince Dube of Ward 10, who won the party’s National Assembly primary elections, was being hounded out of his position because his wife was from the amagundwane group.
“There are absolutely no grounds for a re-run in Emakhandeni. The only reason we can think of is that Clr Dube married from the wrong tribe, as his wife is Shona,” said an official.
The official called on the party leadership to solve the issue urgently, saying it could cost crucial votes in the harmonised elections.
“I doubt that the national leaders are aware of this. The problem is we can only communicate with them through Mr Moyo. Tribal statements were rife in the run-up to primaries in Nketa, where Mr Phelela Masuku was reffered to as igundwane because they said he belonged to the Matson Hlalo camp and Mr Mandla Sibanda called icimbi. When the issue was raised in a meeting, Mr Moyo brushed it aside and it was not included in the minutes,” said the official.
Observers have said tribalism is likely to result in the MDC-T’s downfall in the elections.
Last month, a leaked recording of an MDC-T official, believed to be Luveve legislator Mr Reggie Moyo, exposed the extent of the party’s tribal intolerance.
In the recording the person is heard laughing off the challenge of Mr Kidwell Mujuru for the Luveve National Assembly seat, claiming MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai would not be blinded into allowing a Shona candidate in the region as it would have a negative effect on his presidential aspirations.
Contacted for comment, Mr Moyo declined to comment on the tribalism allegations, but labelled Mr Chirowodza an impostor.
“I do not discuss party issues in the Press. A genuine MDC-T member who has a grievance would go through the party’s procedures. Anyone who goes to the Press and issues statements when he is not the provincial chairperson or spokesperson is an impostor,” said Mr Moyo.
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