By Robert Tapfumaneyi
THOKOZANI Khupe, President of the MDC-T has dismissed as malicious, claims that she was receiving funding from the ruling Zanu PF party to destabilise the MDC led by Nelson Chamisa.
Instead, Khupe accused the Zanu PF government of depriving her $900 000, from the Parliament political funding, that she claimed her party was entitled to as the “legitimate MDC”.
She was responding to claims by former colleague, Linda Masarira, who said Khupe’s political outfit was being sponsored by Zanu PF and government to destabilise the main opposition party, the MDC and to pay for a legal battles before the courts over the control of the MDC.
Khupe is one of the most active members of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), a platform of Zanu PF and losing candidates in the 2018 presidential elections.
“Dr Khupe has at no stage received any material or otherwise support from Zanu PF, so this a malicious campaign against Dr Khupe and the MDC-T,” the party’s information secretary, Khaliphani Phugeni said in response to Masarira’s allegations.
“How ironic is it, that almost 12 months after the party summarily dismissed Ms Masarira, for supporting Zanu PF, she makes such claims?”
Masarira was expelled from the MDC-T in 2019 where she was the information secretary after she was pictured wearing Zanu PF regalia with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s face on it.
“The MDC-T and its president, Dr Khupe, have not received any money from Zanu PF, and government. It is common knowledge that the Zanu PF-led government connived with the MDC Alliance to the prejudice of $900 000 of political funding legally due to MDC-T,” he said.
“What is obvious is that Ms Linda Masarira, needs urgent help based on her many public episodes, but what is iniquitous is for one of the major daily publications to come up with a sensational headline with
no basis on fact and reality and its screaming headline is ostensibly based on Ms Linda Masarira’s big revel.
“It is clear that Ms Linda Musarira will say anything just to get something for her quick fix. Ms Linda Masarira has nothing to contribute in this national debate and attending to her unfounded accusations is an unnecessary distraction.”
