Former Allies Rejoin Tsvangirai’s MDC-T Party

Harare, March 13, 2014 – Embattled MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday received a major boost after two of the party’s founding members rejoined the opposition party.

Job Sikhala, the outspoken leader of the MDC 99 party and Joubert Mudzumwe, the chairperson of a smaller faction of the MDC party announced their return to the MDC-T party at a media conference where Tsvangirai welcomed them back to what he called the “big tent”.

Sikhala was suspended from the MDC-T party in 2009 over some remarks he allegedly made claiming that party officials were squabbling over some financial donations from Taiwan, Nigerian and Ghanaian governments. Sikhala’s remarks sparked a diplomatic crisis as Taipei, Abuja and Accra rejected the claims.

Mudzumwe withdrew from Tsvangirai’s party to join some rebels who formed a splinter faction after differing with the former trade union leader over participation in the 2005 Senate elections. He later ditched the Welshman Ncube led faction to form another breakaway party led by robotics professor Arthur Mutambara.

Sikhala, who disclosed that he met Tsvangirai on Tuesday for a breakfast meeting pledged to help reinvigorate Tsvangirai’s party inorder to defeat President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party in elections scheduled for 2018.

“There is no strength in disunity than in unity. Overthrowing the dictator can only be done in unity. The people want our struggle to be rejuvenated. The spirit of 1999 is the one that has possessed us now and we will be unstoppable. I am prepared to sink with the decision that I took today,” said Sikhala in reference to the year that the opposition party was formed.

The former MDC 99 leader heaped praise on Tsvangirai’s leadership and for being tolerant and forgiving.

“The man still has the spirit and the call for us to continue in this struggle,” Sikhala added.

Mudzumwe disclosed that some members of his party will soon join the MDC-T party.

Tsvangirai welcomed the return of Sikhala and Mudzumwe and urged other party founding members and opposition leaders to join his party to stage a formidable battle against Zanu PF.

The opposition leader hinted that his party will organize an elective congress to address the issue of leadership renewal which is being called for by some rebels in the party.