‘We Were Exaggerating Issues When I Was In MDC-T’- Says RDP Leader Elton Mangoma

RENEWAL Democrats Party (RDP) leader Elton Mangoma says “we were” exaggerating issues when “I” was in the MDC-T.

Mangoma left the MDC-T in April 2014 together with Tendai Biti, the former party secretary general and formed the MDC Renewal.

Then they were accusing MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai of selfishness, corruption and of lacking strategic thinking in the bid to dislodge Zanu PF from power.

The former energy minister this year split from Tendai Biti over power struggles and formed his RDP which held its congress last week in Harare.

In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com in Harare, the former MDC-T deputy treasurer said his new party is being well received by Zimbabweans including traditional leaders in the country’s rural areas.

Mangoma said it was not true that traditional leaders were blocking them from campaigning when they were in the main MDC.

“There were lots of lies which were being said when were in the MDC-T, for example, they would accuse a person of being a witch just by merely looking at his step,” said Mangoma.

“That is what we at the RDP are against; that you should not accuse a person before proving that in deed that person is guilty of the case you are accusing him of and this is one of many issues which prompted us to move away from the MDC-T because we had realised that the party was going nowhere.”

The MDC-T is on record accusing traditional leaders of assisting Zanu PF to “rig” elections through frog marching voters to the polls.

Their allegations were recently supported by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in its Hurungwe East by election report. According to the report, traditional leaders were intimidating former MP for the area, Themba Mliswa,’s supporters in the run up to the elections.

The ousted former Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman (Mliswa) was contesting as an independent candidate against Zanu PF’s Keith Guza.

Mangoma said opposition parties should stop being cry-babies and start engaging the electorate if they want to dislodge Zanu PF from power.

“Yes, it is true that Zanu PF rigs elections but as opposition parties we were not doing enough,” said Mangoma.

“There are other things which we can do to minimise the rigging like engaging the communities at grass roots level .We need to be in the people, with the people and identify ourselves with the people.” source-newzimbabwe