MDC-T officials at war in Bulawayo

The state media reports that rifts are widening in the MDC-T with reports that Bulawayo's Ward 12 councillor, Clr Thembeni Khoza, recently confronted Njube-Lobengula House of Assembly member Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo whom she accused of decampaigning her . . . together with fellow councillor, Clr Phinias Ndlovu's ouster.

Dr Nkomo is said to be going around his constituency calling on party members not to vote for the two councillors in the upcoming elections. The two councillors' wards fall under Dr Nkomo's constituency.

This comes amid reports that Clr Ndlovu had lined himself  to challenge Dr Sipepa Nkomo for the Njube-Lobengula ticket in the party's primary elections.

Dr Sipepa Nkomo, who is also the Minister of Water Resources, Management and Development, is alleged to have launched an onslaught against the two councillors, where he goes around the constituency urging party members not to vote for them in the party's primaries.

According to party insiders, during one of his meetings that was held in Old Lobengula a                   couple of weeks ago, Clr Khoza stormed into the meeting and confronted the minister over his alleged attack.

In an interview with Sunday News Clr Khoza confirmed confronting the minister saying she was fast losing respect for him, because of his alleged unprofessional conduct.

"The minister started as far back as 2008 to continuously insult me during his meetings. I don't know what I did wrong, thus I decided to confront  him with the aim of finding out why he was campaigning using my name. He goes around the five branches saying bad things about me and Clr Ndlovu. What surprises me is that we are not even part of the opposition but we belong to the same party.

"I have honestly had enough of his antics. I am a quiet someone and I don't like talking. What I believe in is that leaders come and go and people are the only ones with the final say, if he wants to retain his seat then why use my name?" asked Clr Khoza.

She said it was highly unprofessional that Dr Sipepa Nkomo would go around spreading falsehoods among party members as this was fanning divisions within the party.

"I am told during his meetings, he tells people that we went and begged for CDF money so that we share among ourselves. Just yesterday (Wednesday) he told members from branch two that he wanted to follow up and throw out my application to become a councillor again as he had identified his own councillor. Honestly, how do you respect someone who does that especially considering that he is one of our party elders,? asked the councillor.

Clr Ndlovu, on the other hand, said the minister's antics were mere cheap politicking and it was to be expected in politics.

"This is politics and in politics you meet such things but it is not right at all because there are           a lot of things he should be talking about, like the opposition because they will also be fielding their own candidates.

"If he feels I am disturbing him anyhow, he should approach me and tell me rather than what he is currently doing," said Clr Ndlovu.

Contacted for comment Dr Sipepa Nkomo, however, said as far as he was concerned he was not decampaigning anyone but was simply going about his duties as a sitting MP where he meets his constituency to update them with the happenings within government.

"I have not been decampaigning anyone, actually I've been a loyal MP and continue to be one, right now what I am doing is consult my structures, which is the normal responsibility of any sitting MP.

"All that I have been doing is holding feedback meetings. It's unfortunate that some                    people now feel threatened because of this but this is a sincere process, all which is being said by these councillors is highly mischievious," said Dr Sipepa Nkomo.

Impeccable party sources who spoke to this publication, however, revealed that the two councillors were being made to suffer because of Clr Ndlovu's bid to challenge Dr Sipepa Nkomo.

They said this was viewed as an act of defiance on the part of the councillor as the minister             was viewed as one of the big wigs, which the party president, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was attempting to protect ahead of this year's pending elections.

"Clr Ndlovu has in the past clashed with the minister, especially during the period of the CDF where he was chief in questioning the disbursement of the fund in the constituency therefore now that he has openly declared his intention to challenge the minister he is largely viewed as threat.

"At one point there was a move to block Clr Ndlovu's application to enter the race for the constituency," said the party source.

It was recently reported that PM Morgan Tsvangirai was allegedly shielding party "big-wigs" and sitting MPs countrywide from stiff challenge by young Turks threatening to contest their seats.

The imminent primary elections to select candidates to represent the party in the forthcoming general election were threatening to create fissures after a group requested Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to disregard the party's constitutional position on sitting MPs. The MDC-T constitution stipulates that a sitting MP requires a two-thirds confirmation from party officials in his or her constituency to avoid a primary election.

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