THE sacked personal driver of MDC-T vice-president Thokozani Khupe has accused her of dismissing him on tribal grounds. NQOBANI NDLOVU STAFF REPORTER George Mukahanana, Khupe’s personal driver since 2006, alleged she fired him last month for being too close to her rival Matson Hlalo’s faction battling for control of MDC-T Bulawayo province.
Mukahanana yesterday told Southern Eye that he would take the former Makokoba MP and MDC-T leader in the National Assembly to the Labour Court for unfair dismissal.
“I had been a personal driver for Khupe from 2006 until last month when she unfairly sacked me,” he said.
“There were already reports that I was allegedly too close to a faction opposed to her.
“I was fired on tribal grounds. I was her personal driver before and during the inclusive government and the agreement was that after the end of the Government of national unity, I would continue being her personal driver,” Mukahanana said.
However, Khupe denied dismissing Mukahanana on tribal grounds or factional lines.
“That is not true,” Khupe said.
“I am not the one who employed him, but the government.
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“What am I supposed to do? There is no more inclusive government.
“And it’s not true I dismissed him on tribal lines.
“I have workers who speak Shona or have Shona surnames and names.”
But Mukahanana maintained that Khupe threw him out of the job after the end of the inclusive government because of his alleged links to the Hlalo faction and on tribal grounds.
The MDC-T Bulawayo province is deeply divided on tribal and factional lines resulting in party leader Morgan Tsvangirai making numerous trips to the city to try and iron out the differences.
Those aligned to Hlalo also claim that they are being sidelined by the MDC-T provincial structures because they are Shona.
