THE late MDC leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Mr Luke Tamborinyoka, now cuts a forlorn and dejected figure after he was barred from representing CCC in the forthcoming harmonised elections despite having been overwhemingly nominated to represent the party during its chaotic candidate selection process.
In a heartfelt message to the people of Goromonzi West, Mr Tamborinyoka, who sources say is set to move to Poland for some menial job, said he won the right to be the party’s candidate for the constituency during the selection process but the party’s hierarchy felt he was not fit for purpose.
Mr Tamborinyoka is one of the people who helped CCC leader Mr Nelson Chamisa grab the then MDC Alliance leadership as he was in charge of the late Mr Tsvangirai’s social media handles, through which he propped up Mr Chamisa as the chosen successor, when that was not the case.
But like the rest of the old guard, Mr Tamborinyoka has no place among Mr Chamisa’s preferred underlings, made up of mostly former student leaders and political novices with no historical gravitas to question his despotic dispositions.
Insiders said Mr Tamborinyoka and Mr Tendai Biti, who was also cut loose by Mr Chamisa, are refusing to hand over the party’s election manifesto because of the manner they have been treated.
In his open letter to the people of Goromonzi, Mr Tamborinyoka claims that he came first during the just ended candidate selection process but was elbowed out the last minute.
“Firstly, I want to thank you all, my fellow Domboshava citizens here in Goromonzi West constituency, particularly the CCC family, for overwhelmingly nominating me and validating my candidature in your huge numbers to stand as the CCC’s parliamentary candidate in the forthcoming election,” reads part of the message.
In the same message, Mr Tamborinyoka also exposed Chamisa’s controversial ‘strategic ambiguity’ politics which led to the fielding of double or triple candidates.
“The process is now complete. It was completed on the day of the Nomination Court last month. I have deliberately chosen this crucial hour to urge you all to support and to vote for Tinei Munetsi, the now duly nominated candidate for MP for Goromonzi West.”
Mr Tamborinyoka typically identifies himself in every letter or article as a citizen and a change champion in CCC, but for the first time he omitted the initials, sparking rumours that he would be permanently abandoning the CCC brigade.
Meanwhile, CCC deputy presidents Mr Tendai Biti and Professor Welshman Ncube snubbed the party’s election campaign launch that was held over the weekend amid reports that the party could be headed for yet another split.
It also comes as Mr Chamisa threw Mr Biti under the proverbial bus and rigged the Harare East candidate selection process against him because he believed that the latter had a hand in his failure to secure funding for the elections during his recent visit to the United States.
On the other hand, Prof Ncube allegedly feels like he is continuously being pushed to the periphery in the so-called building of the new movement.
According to insiders, the relationship between Mr Chamisa and his two lieutenants has broken down beyond repair.
— Herald