{{Embattled MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his allies will increasingly use \u201cdisciplinary\u201d measures to silence officials who are calling for a change of the guard. Addressing a rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru on Sunday, MDC-T national chairman Mr Lovemore Moyo branded renewal proponents \u201cbetrayers of the highest order\u201d.}}<\/p>\n
He ordered use of party structures to deal with those who want leadership renewal as Mr Tsvangirai\u2019s camp muzzles freedom of expression and democracy in the opposition.<\/p>\n
This could put Mr Moyo and secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti on a collision course as the chair oversees disciplinary matters while the latter \u2014 who is pro-renewal \u2014 is in charge of party administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople that we picked when they were nobodies and were made who they are by this movement are today turning their backs on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to deal with a person who has violated the party\u2019s constitution, I am giving you, as your national chairman, that right to deal with those people who are misbehaving, using the structures,\u201d Mr Moyo said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Already, deputy treasurer Mr Elton Mangoma \u2014 the face of the renewal agenda \u2014 has been suspended as have many other officials across the country.
\nHowever, treasurer-general Mr Roy Bennet has been allowed to \u201cexplain\u201d to Mr Tsvangirai what he has meant by calling for leadership renewal without facing any reprisals. Sources said this was because Mr Tsvangirai was hesitant to take on Mr Bennet, who is a leading party fundraiser from his base in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Mr Tsvangirai\u2019s supporters have been using violence to try and silence his critics, who point out the fact that the party leader has not won a single national election between 2000 and 2013.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said no one had the right to tell him what to do and said those who wanted leadership renewal should leave the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you there when we formed the party? What values are you talking about \u2014 do you know where the party came from? Form your party if you want!<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not listen to those people who say Tsvangirai wants to privatise the party. I am not going to privatise the party. I am merely a leader of the people. If you want to form a party that kills MDC, so you want to promote Zanu-PF. That is what it means.\u201d<\/p>\n
His critics are uncomfortable that the \u201cT\u201d in the party name stands for \u201cTsvangirai\u201d, thereby personalising the opposition. They have since dubbed themselves MDC Team.<\/p>\n
herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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