MDC-T president, Thokozani Khupe, was pushed by the MDC Alliance to work with ZANU-PF, political observers have said.
The former vice president of then Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDCT, was recalled from Parliament after Tsvangirai’s death when she challenged the party for violating its constitution by blocking her from taking over the leadership of the party.
When the Supreme ruled in her favour in 2020, Khupe assumed the leadership of the MDC-T and used that opportunity to recall a number of councillors and MPs before parting ways with the now Douglas Mwonzora-led formation.
While with Mwonzora’s formation, Khupe was accused of working with the ruling ZANU-PF party to destabilise the opposition resulting in the formation of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa.
While some people are opposed to Khupe’s intentions to join the CCC claiming she worked with the enemy to destroy the opposition, political observers have however said the former deputy prime minister had been pushed to ZANU-PF by the MDC Alliance.
Speaking Tuesday during This Morning on Asakhe, a programme hosted by CITE on Twitter spaces, one of the participants, only identified as Bekithemba, said Khupe’s issue should not be debated out of context.
He said Khupe was unfairly treated by her former party.
“MDC-Tsvangirai and its gatekeepers pushed Thokozani Khupe towards ZANU-PF and ZANU-PF took advantage of that,” said Bekithemba.
“Let’s put context to it and not act like there is no history; there is the history behind Thokozani Khupe. When you are set up like that you easily fall into the machinations of ZANU-PF”
Another participant, Busi Bhebhe, said she felt Khupe was being victimised because she is a female politician from Matabeleland.
“When you are a woman, you have to be twice as hard and be twice as tough because as a politician you won’t be taken seriously,” she said.
“I understand her move to recall MPs, it was bad for the opposition. It was bad for the progressive movement, but I think in hindsight because one, she was angry two, she needed to make a point as a female politician to say I can also make hard decisions. She made that decision and she wasn’t the first person to make that decision.”
On Monday, Khupe publicly endorsed the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and called on her party members to vote for CCC members in the upcoming by-elections.
