MDC-T Acting President Nelson says the late Morgan Tsvangirai entrusted him, before his death, to take care and look after the opposition as the departed leader believed in youthful leadership.
Chamisa was addressing thousands of people who gathered at the Freedom Square to pay their last respects to the former Prime Minister who died of colon cancer last week.
Chamisa, seized the moment to put to rest the power struggle within the embattled party where he disclosed that before Tsvangirai left for his final trip to South Africa on 6 January, he called him and assured him that he was the able leader to take the party forward.
“The last words that this leader talked about when he met the youth assembly was that the MDC-T should not be a one generational movement. He said the party should be a movement with successive generation. That is why he said in his last statement that young people should take the mantra.
“When he appointed the vice presidents, he had a vision and he knew his successor,he said ‘Chamisa we have worked together for a long time but i want you to take the party and unite it, desist from factions.
“He was a visionary leader who wanted to see this party united, so let us all be united for the party does not belong to one person. so it is upon us to to use the strong base that we were given to take the party forward.
“We have a strong strong party and a government in waiting and let us all win the forthcoming elections for our departed president,” said Chamisa while throwing his protagonists in the power wrangle, Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe, under the bus.
Power struggles in the opposition party have overshadowed the funeral of the former trade unionist.
Chamisa was appointed by a National Executive Committee on Thursday, hours after the death of Tsvangirai, a move that did not go well with other senior party members who feel the move was not done constitutionally.
However, Chamisa took a swipe at the allegations saying the whole process (of appointing him as Acting President) was above board and should not be challenged.
“What we did was constitutional and should not be challenged. We did not want to create a leadership vacuum which would create more problems for us, so let us support that decision,” said the seemingly overexcited Chamisa.
On Saturday, the mother to the late Tsvangirai, denounced Chamisa and Tsvangirai’s widow, Elizabeth, while threatening to commit suicide in the event that the two attend her son’s burial.
As if the circus the circus is not enough, Gogo Tsvangirai refused to disembark from the hearse while the funeral was taking place revealing that all is not well between the Tsvangirai family and Chamisa’s camp.
The youthful leader seem to have the public’s endorsement on his side while some senior party officials, including spokesperson Obert Gutu, are against the idea of having Chamisa as the leader of the party.
