There is rising anger in the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance over a brewing attempt by party bigwigs – among them vice-president Welshman Ncube and national chairperson Tabitha Khumalo – to breakaway ahead of the 2023 elections. Others said to be involved in the scheme are Youth Assembly organising secretary Godfrey Kurauone and Bulawayo provincial chairperson James Sithole. Insiders said the quartet is weighing the possibility of wresting power from Chamisa, or more likely forming their own party.
This follows reports that Ncube last week declared his presidential ambitions at a church service in Matebeleland South, while Kurauone was assaulted in Masvingo for aligning himself to the the party VP.
At the weekend, Ncube and the other three snubbed an emergency National Council meeting called by Chamisa in Harare.
The Sunday National Council meeting was attended by Chamisa sympathisers Charlton Hwende, Agency Gumbo and Job Sikhala; who took turns to rebuke Ncube, Khumalo and others. They also said the party was better off without them, signalling their intent to expel the quarter. “Ana Welshman nevamwe vake (Welshman Ncube and his alleged co-conspirators) are rebels, they want to sabotage us ahead of the elections,” a party official who requested anonymity said. However, a source close to Ncube said there was growing support for the party’s VP to either replace Chamisa or reconstitute his own party by pulling out of the stuttering alliance.
He said there was growing disenchanted with Chamisa’s apparent inability to muster a response to the pull-out by a faction led by Douglas Mwonzora, much less to Zanu-PF which appears to have already kicked into election mode.
