Swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
21 December, 2010
The Zimbabwe Mail news site has reported that rowdy mobs belonging to rival factions of the MDC-M fought running battles all day in Mutare on Sunday, after Manicaland province rejected Welshman Ncube’s nomination as MDC-M leader. The report said police responded to violent clashes between Ncube’s supporters, and supporters of current President Arthur Mutambara, who is from Manicaland.
Mutambara announced over the weekend that he would not seek re-election as MDC-M president at the party’s congress due in January, 2011, in order to avoid divisions within the party. It is known that he had lost the endorsement of 11out of the party’s 12 provinces to Ncube.
MDC-M spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa on Tuesday denied the allegations that rival factions had fought in Mutare. He described the Zimbabwe Mail report as ‘malicious’ and ‘meant to tarnish the image of the party’.
Mushoriwa said it is also not true that Manicaland province had rejected Ncube. “There is only Professor Ncube for president in all the provinces, including Manicaland, and there were no objections,†said Mushoriwa.
The MDC-M spokesperson also denied the report that Mutambara was being defiant and insisting that he will run for President in elections in 2011. He said the party was united and the reports are coming from ‘people who want to create divisions within the MDC’.
But there has been a huge outcry from MDC-M members over the fact that Senator David Coltart was not nominated for any top positions within the party. Some of them ‘attacked’ secretary-general Ncube on his Facebook page, describing Coltart as ‘hardworking’ and crediting him with improving the education sector, in his position as education minister.
Ncube reportedly responded by announcing that Coltart would be appointed into a ‘National Executive Council’.
On Monday SW Radio Africa had reported that the MDC-M provincial chairperson for Manicaland, Sondon Mugaradziko, had been arrested after heavily armed
police barged into a meeting he was about to chair in Mutare on Sunday.
MDC-M spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa said that Mugaradziko was still in police custody Tuesday and was facing charges of ‘organising a political meeting without clearance’.
But Mushoriwa explained that according to the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a political party does not need to inform the police when they hold a private meeting. He said their chairperson was taken by the police before the meeting had even started.
“It works in ZANU PF’s favour when we cannot meet to organize,†said the frustrated spokesperson.