Tsvangirai in marriage saga U-turn

Bulawayo.
At the MDC-T’s anniversary PM Tsvangirai apologised to the women he hurt before he settled for Ms Macheka.
“I would like to thank you for wel­coming my wife to the MDC family. I know that the journey I have trav­elled to make this choice has been rough and rugged.

However, I am glad that eventu­ally I have made a choice.
“I would like to apologise to any­one who was hurt because it was not my intention as it was a genuine search for a new wife,’’ said PM Tsvangirai.
However, in an interview with a British newspaper, the Guardian, at his home in Harare last week, the PM made an about turn saying he had been a vic­tim of a smear campaign.

He also denied that his string of affairs with various women following the death of his wife, Susan, in 2009 could be described as scandalous.
“I had two or three relationships and that was blown out of propor­tion,” he said.
“If two consenting adults have a rela­tionship what is wrong with that? I did­n’t go and rape somebody.  I didn’t go and take somebody’s wife.”

He accused his political enemies of perpetuating the media frenzy that characterised his aborted wedding.
“They knew they could not pin me down on anything so they had to find something that they could point to as if they were angels,” he said.
“Some of these people who are writ­ing about my so-called sexual scandals have a string of girlfriends, a string of wives and children. We fell apart, as human beings fall apart in relation­ships. It is natural. But to call it a scandal is a bit exaggerated.”

Also see

• Court postpones PMs maintenance case

• PM’s ‘apology’ not good enough

• It’s not Locardia’s fight alone

• PM’s SA lover speaks out

• Locardia outsmarts Tsvangirai in court again

• PM’s messy love life splits party

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo scoffed at PM Tsvangirai’s claims.
“We have said it before, we totally have nothing to do with his issues and he should learn to deal with his per­sonal affairs,” Cde Gumbo said.
PM Tsvangirai was linked to a num­ber of women soon after his wife’s death in an accident, with one of the liaisons producing a child.

The PM fathered a child, Ethan, with Loreta Nyathi and at one stage was threatened with a lawsuit for child sup­port but later settled for a maintenance fee of US$1 400 out of court.

His name was also mentioned in divorce proceedings of a couple in Bul­awayo.
The Prime Minister then married Ms Locadia Karimatsenga last year in a tra­ditional ceremony after impreg­nating her although she later had a miscar­riage.
He dumped her after 12 days.

Ms Karimatsenga later successfully blocked his wedding at the High Court and is claiming US$15 000 mainte­nance from him.
The Prime Minister also had another affair with Nosipho Regina Shilubane of South Africa and in her lawsuit trying to stop his wedding to Ms Macheka she said he also prom­ised her his hand in marriage and had been intimate with­out protection on numerous occa­sions.

The PM’s indiscretions led to calls for his resignation by some members of MDC-T’s UK and Ireland branch.
A faction led by Ms Suzeet Kwenda was the first to call for the premier to resign from Government and the party’s top post saying his sex life had tarnished the

image of the party while his escapades objectified women.