Resignations from Mutambara faction insignificant- Chaibva

By Tichaona Sibanda
08 June 2006

The real reason for Shakespeare Maya’s suspension from the Arthur Mutambara MDC is that he is a power hungry individual who is against the advancement of women in the party, party spokesman Gabriel Chaibva said on Thursday.

Maya, the former presidential candidate for the National Alliance for Good Governance, was suspended from the Mutambara faction last week for allegedly causing serious divisions among party members in Chitungwiza. But the real truth to the Maya saga, according to the Mutambara spokesman Gabriel Chaibva, is that he was using divide and rule tactics in his quest to be appointed the deputy secretary-general of the faction.

‘The man is power hungry, he’s against the advancement of women and and even more serious is his continued alliance with Zanu (PF) officials,’ Chaibva said.

Maya, who once belonged to the ruling party before he formed and later left his own party, the National Alliance for Good Governance (NAGG), has unsuccessfully contested several elections under different banners from 2000.

Maya’s suspension was immediately followed by the resignation of seventeen members from the Mutambara faction in Chitungwiza province, who sited the faction’s lack of capacity to unseat the government as the reason.

In their joint resignation letter last week the 17 said: ‘We the undersigned regret to tender our resignation from your faction of the MDC with immediate effect. We would have liked to travel together much longer, but unfortunately conditions do not permit.’

Chaibva dismissed the resignations as insignificant saying his faction will move ahead without them. He said the 17 members were enticed by Maya to ‘follow him into oblivion.’ A number of senior members have left Mutambara’s faction for the Tsvangirai camp, including national chairperson and Mbare legislator Gift Chimanikire, Binga member of the House of assembly Joel Gabuza, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo and Kwekwe’s Blessing Chebundo, among others.