By Tapiwa Nyati and Golden Guvamatanga

EFFORTS to topple MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the helm of the embattled party are intensifying with high ranking officials orchestrating the moves to oust the beleaguered leader, The Patriot established this week.
Since his embarrassing defeat by President Robert Mugabe in the July 31 harmonised election, there has been a growing chorus from party members for Tsvangirai to step down.
The Rhodesian establishment in the MDC-T, among them party treasurer, Roy Bennett, former Marondera Central legislator Iain Kay, Bulawayo South legislator Eddie Cross and former Commercial Farmers Union president Ben Freeth have since called for Tsvangirai to step down.
As a result of the Rhodesians’ public outbursts, Western donors have withheld funds exacerbating the woes of the party.
Recently MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora admitted that some black senior party officials had called for Tsvangirai to step down.
While Tsvangirai has been defiantly clinging on, it emerged this week that there has been serious behind-the-scenes orchestrations by the party’s organising secretary, Nelson Chamisa, and deputy treasurer- general Elton Mangoma.
“Yes there are people who have raised issues in the national executive, in the national council, at various forums,” Mwonzora was quoted in the media as saying.
“They have raised the issue about the need for leadership renewal.
“And there are other people who don’t think it’s a good idea and that we should remain with the leadership that we have.”
Information gathered by The Patriot this week revealed that Chamisa and Mangoma allegedly funded a meeting that was held at Zimbabwe Germany Society recently where student representatives and party youths resolved to push for Tsvangirai’s ouster.
MDC-T youth leader Solomon Madzore and Shakespeare Mukoyi, the party’s provincial youth assembly members for Harare are reportedly behind the Chamisa project and have already started mobilising youths and party structures to remove Tsvangirai.
The United States, Australia and Canada, the sources said, have endorsed the so-called ‘Chamisa project’.
“What you have been hearing about Tsvangirai’s position in the party is true, the man has failed to lead us to Canaan and many of us feel that he is way past his sell-by date,” said one of the sources who refused to be named.
“The new thinking in our party and from our funders is that Chamisa must take over and already there is massive behind-the-scenes lobbying for the young man to take over, that was the agenda of the Zimbabwe Germany Society meeting.”
It is also alleged that Tsvangirai’s visit to Nigerian ‘Prophet’ Temitope Balogun’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) besides seeking solutions to his political woes also sought ‘healing’ of spinal cancer that developed as a result of injuries the MDC-T leader sustained in a car accident in the early 1990s.
Tsvangirai’s close sources said so dire is this situation that he now uses pillows to support his back when travelling.
“Tsvangirai is not well, we have been told that his spinal cancer is getting bad and that was the reason why he went kwaTB Joshua, it was for treatment,” said the source.
The MDC-T is scheduled to hold its congress in 2016, but in a bid to save himself from further political humiliation, Tsvangirai has reportedly been pushing for a special congress early next year where he is widely expected to reinstate his ‘legitimacy’, the sources said.
This move by Tsvangirai has, however, failed to deter senior MDC-T officials from pushing for their leader’s ouster as soon as possible.
“Tsvangirai is wasting his time if he thinks that an early congress will quell our determination to have him go,” said another source.
“I can tell you that Tsvangirai will have long gone by Christmas because his continued stay is deterring donors from pouring money into the project.”
Both Chamisa and Mangoma could not be reached for comment at the time of going for print.
Mwonzora said he was unaware of the plot to oust Tsvangirai.
He said the party’s standing committee, the national executive and the national council had not outlawed debate on leadership renewal in the party.
“I have no knowledge of that (plot to oust Tsvangirai), that is obviously not true,” said Mwonzora.
“The position of the party is that debate on the issue of leadership renewal is not outlawed, the standing committee, the national executive and the national council made a resolution that debate will not be outlawed and that we will be under the leadership of president Tsvangirai until our congress in 2016.”
On Tsvangirai’s health, Mwonzora said, the MDC-T leader was well.
“I certainly know that he is fit, but issues to do with intricate details you have to talk to his spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka.”