MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s credibility has received yet another dent following revelations this week by impeccable sources that he abandoned and ill-treated his father Dzingirai Chibwe before he died in 2006.
Sources who spoke to The Patriot this week said before his death, Dzingirai Chibwe who had fallen out with his embattled son when he inherited his young brother’s wife swore that his son would never rule Zimbabwe for siding with his mother in the polygamous dispute.
Ironically, Tsvangirai has in recent years frequented ‘prophets’ and traditional healers in search of what MDC-T sources said were ‘solutions to his ever waning political fortunes’.
On September 1, 2010, Tsvangirai visited Nigerian televangelist Temitope Balogun Joshua (Prophet TB Joshua), who told him that he would never rule the country.
Recently he was once again in Nigeria visiting TB Joshua and MDC-T sources said he had gone there for treatment on his troublesome back widely believed to be spinal cancer.
The 78-year-old Dzingirai Chibwe died a pauper and a very bitter man in rural Buhera in 2006, the sources said.
The sources said when he inherited his young brother’s wife, Tsvangirai’s mother Lydia Zvaipa left in a huff and relocated to her parents’ home together with her children.
From that time, the sources said, Tsvangirai never saw eye to eye with his father until his time of death when the MDC-T leader tried to gain political mileage through his father’s death.
He was humiliated at the funeral when the Dzingirai Chibwe family chased him away together with the expensive casket that he had bought for his father.
They said during his time of illness, it was villagers in Nerutanga Village who took turns to take care of the ailing Dzingirai Chibwe while Tsvangirai ‘enjoyed his newly found fame in Harare. He was forced to retreat to his shell and came back to Harare with the coffin.
One of the people who interacted with Dzingirai Chibwe before his death, Zvichauya Mutihwana whose aunt is married to the Tsvangirai family said Tsvangirai never took care or had time with his father from the time his mother left.
Tsvangirai, she said, only resurfaced with a coffin and MDC-T officials when his father died.
“Chinoshamisa ndechekuti kubva paakaenda kumusha kwa Amai vake, Tsvangirai haana kuzombocheuka baba vake,” said Mutihwana.
“VaDzingirai vaigara vachitaura kuti vana vangu ngavauye asi vose kusanganisira naiye Tsvangirai vairamba kuuya kuzoona baba vavo.
“Pakaenda mukadzi wavo wenhaka, VaDzingirai vakasara vasina muchengeti uye vaigaronyunyuta kuti Tsvangirai angatadza kutumira kana musikana webasa kuti andichengete.”
Mutihwana said Dzingirai Chibwe hit the ground three times with his walking stick saying Tsvangirai would never rule this country.
She said, when he came to the funeral in the company of MDC-T officials, Dzingirai Chibwe’s relatives told him to go back to his ‘people’ in apparent reference to his mother’s relatives.
“Pavairwara vaDzingirai vakarova pasi netsvimbo yavo vakati Tsvangirai haafe akatonga nyika ino yeZimbabwe nokuda kwamabatiro aarikundiita,” said Mutihwana.
“Vaibvunza kuti iye anopindira papi panyaya dzavo nomudzimai wavo?
“Airwa shanje dzaamai Tsvangirai.
“Paakauya kumariro ababa vake hama dzavaDzingirai dzakamutaurira kuti adzokere kuhama dzake chaidzo vachirevera vekwa amai.
“Vakamutaurira Tsvangirai kuti bhokisi (coffin) tatenga kare.”
While his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka was not reachable for comment, sources close to Tsvangirai confirmed that the MDC-T leader never saw eye to eye with his late father.
Tsvangirai, the sources said, lived a ‘haunted life’.
“It is true that Tsvangirai never took care of his father and in fact to say he never took care of his father is an understatement, the man hated his father with a burning passion,” said one of the sources.
“How then such a person who abandons his father can be entrusted to lead the country is a mystery to many of us.”
Another source said while many things about Tsvangirai’s controversy-ridden life only begun to come to the fore, in the inclusive Government era ‘it is good that such things as his family life are coming to the public’.
“Here is a man who lives a haunted life, but when you trace the root of the problem you find that it has everything to do with his family problems.
“You can’t fight your parents when the Bible says respect them and then you expect to lead the country.
“Going forward as a party, this is one of the issues we have to give serious consideration because we could have been losing the previous elections due to his personal problems.”