Tsvangirai forgave Mugabe

Published: 20 February 2018

MDC leader, Welshman Ncube on Saturday claimed the late MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai had confided in him that he had long forgiven former President Robert Mugabe for the torture and suffering he endured during his reign.

Tsvangirai died last Wednesday in South African, where he was receiving treatment for colon cancer.

He will be buried today in Buhera.

Drama has, however, characterised his funeral, but Ncube, who was addressing mourners at an interdenominational memorial service for the late Tsvangirai at Large City Hall in Bulawayo on Saturday, said Zimbabweans must emulate Tsvangirai's selflessness to ensure peace and unity prevails.

Ncube's statements follow the infighting in the MDC-T over Tsvangirai's successor.

"…we are also celebrating Tsvangirai's life, a life which was so rich, so diverse. I want to remind you that Tsvangirai won the 2008 presidential election. He did not get the 47% as claimed by the electoral commission.

"He got more than that, that is why it took them six weeks to rig, and that is why I always say Zimbabwe's first coup was in 2008, not in November last year. It was a pre-emptive coup. When they removed Mugabe, they already had experience, but Tsvangirai forgave them," he said.

"The 2008 coup leaders are the same that removed Mugabe last year, but Tsvangirai had long forgiven them for robbing him of the presidency. He had no bitterness at all, he had no grudge against them, no bitterness that over the years they vilified him, arrested him, beat him and laid treason charges against him. He was selfless," Ncube said.

The former prime minister endured torture, arrest and was at one time charged with treason together with Ncube and other MDC leaders.

The treason charge followed the broadcast of covertly shot video footage purporting to show Tsvangirai plotting Mugabe's assassination.

The charges were based on a grainy four-and-a-half-hour video of a meeting between Tsvangirai and Canadian-based political consultant, Ari Ben Menashe in December 2001.
- newsday