Violent clashes at MDC headquarters

Violent clashes at MDC headquarters

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By Staff Reporters

INTRA-PARTY violence broke out between supporters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Sunday.

The battles pitted supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai, the party’s founding leader, and youths loyal to Lucia Matibenga, the former head of the party’s women’s wing ousted in a boardroom coup and replaced with one of Tsvangirai’s loyalists.

Two journalists -- John Nyashanu and Frank Chikowore -- escaped unhurt after they were harassed by Tsvangirai's supporters who wanted to prevent them from interviewing Matibenga and her supporters.

Nyashanu, a correspondent for the South African Broadcasting Corporation said: "Youths aligned to Tsvangirai did not want any journalist interviewing women sympathetic to Matibenga.

"They charged at me like lions...I had to retreat to my car at the speed of lightning. Fortunately, I had no equipment."

Unconfirmed reports said former Harare mayor Elias Mudzuri, who openly opposed Tsvangirai's move against Matibenga, had also been threatened.

Tsvangirai -- whose leadership style is under renewed scrutiny following a calamitous split of the party into two factions in October 2005 – was addressing his faction’s provincial officials when the clashes broke out.

Matibenga led her supporters in a march to the MDC’s offices at Harvest House in Harare, but her supporters were beaten off by dozens of youths loyal to Tsvangirai.

Earlier, a Sunday newspaper had suggested that Tsvangirai had mellowed over his stance on Matibenga, and was refusing to endorse Theresa Makone as the new head of the party’s women’s wing.

Tsvangirai said: "This matter is within the purview of the organs of the party and a decision is yet to be taken on it.

"The leader of the party is bound by the decisions of the party. It is common cause the matter is still being dealt with in the channels of the party."

Matibenga, who led her placard-waving supporters, said their intention was to meet Tsvangirai.
Matibenga told the Voice of America’s Studio 7 last night: “It was our desire to actually want to visit the party office and carry on with our normal business without really seeking any special clearance.

“We were hoping the president would take time to address the women on this very burning issue (leadership of the women’s assembly.”

Matibenga said she was yet to meet Tsvangirai, almost a month after being pushed out of office.

She said of the violent clashes: “It’s quite regrettable to say the least.”

One of Matibenga’s supporters, who identified himself as Madhuku, said he had been violently attacked as Tsvangirai left the MDC HQ.

“They said I was a sell-out, I don’t know whether supporting Matibenga is selling out because as far as I know, she has not been expelled from the party,” Madhuku told the Voice of America.

A statement by the MDC faction’s information department released after Tsvangirai’s meeting with 200 provincial and district leaders ignored the clashes.

Ironically, the statement said the MDC was concerned by violence against its supporters, accusing the ruling Zanu PF party of insincerity in ongoing talks with the opposition facilitated by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

The statement said: “He (Tsvangirai) said Zanu PF was yet to show its sincerity to the dialogue process, which was aimed at finding common ground between Zanu PF and the MDC in order to ensure a free and fair poll. As a confidence-building measure, the President said, the MDC expected tangible deliverables from Zanu PF such as the cessation of violence and political persecutions.

“All hostility must stop, the opposition must be allowed access to the public media while independent newspapers must be allowed to operate.”

The clashes are not the first in the MDC. Leading to the split in 2005 which saw half the party’s MPs break away from Tsvangirai, accusing him of being a dictator, several senior party officials were attacked by youths loyal to Tsvangirai, including Members of Parliament. Some youths suspended as a result of the violence were re-hired as security officers by Tsvangirai.

A year later, Harare North MP Trudy Stevenson was violently attacked in Mabvuku township. She identified her attackers as MDC youths.

After Matibenga’s ouster recently, Budiriro MP Emmanuel Chisvuure and Mkoba MP Amos Chibaya were assaulted at the MDC HQ in Harare over their links to Matibenga.

President Mugabe, internationally slated for using violence against the opposition, has accused western countries and the media of turning a blind eye to violence perpetrated by MDC supporters.
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