MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s troubled marriage yesterday dominated social network sites as his supporters pondered on his political future after yet another dent on his credibility.
NJABULO NCUBE DEPUTY EDITOR
Tsvangirai and his wife of one year, Elizabeth Macheka, have been washing their dirty linen in public after they both confirmed a rumour that started swirling last year that they were no longer living together.
The MDC-T leader married Macheka – the daughter of a senior Zanu PF official and former Chitungwiza mayor – in 2012 amid controversy over his marital status and love life.
Zimbabweans took to social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter to speculate about the reasons that forced Macheka, a mother of two to walk out of her matrimonial home in Highlands, Harare.
The Harare-based businesswoman told a local newspaper that she had separated from Tsvangirai because of a problem that she said was of a medical nature. Some speculated that the MDC-T leader could not satisfy his wife in bed.
Others accused Macheka of being greedy and angry that Tsvangirai failed to make it to State house after controversially losing to President Robert Mugabe in the disputed July 2013 presidential elections.
“Tsvangirai needs professional medical assessment and treatment if that is possible,” wrote one commentator.
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“It may require a change in lifestyle, especially diet, and watching his weight.
“Being overweight makes it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body to the affected organ to maintain a satisfactory erection.”
John Smith added his voice on the issue: “Love or hate Morgan, I pray God gives him a better 2014, full of better choices and calculated decisions.”
Political analysts believe the latest set-back would pile pressure on Tsvangirai to quit as leader of the MDC-T, paving way for leadership renewal.
There have been calls within the MDC-T for Tsvangirai’s ouster although the party’s spin-doctors have flatly dismissed reports of any political machinations to ring changes.
Trevor Maisiri, an activist with the International Crisis Group said the latest scandal bedevilling Tsvangirai would certainly put pressure on his political life.
“It is difficult to imagine how he will then be able to manage the political side of things,” he said.
“But obviously and being human it will affect his work side, which is the political side.
“Given the extent of dysfunctionality in the MDC-T, there are surely others who will use this case to fight him and try and prove his lack of settled mental framework to lead the party – either in the short or long term.”
Dumisani Nkomo, another activist, said it was unfortunate Tsvangirai and his wife appeared to wash their dirty linen in public at a time the opposition needed a focused leader and leadership.
“They do not need to wash their dirty linen in public because issues between two people are dealt with by the people concerned,” he said.
“They need to proceed with caution, wisdom and discretion.
“In Ndebele we say akulamuzi ongathunqi ntuthu, in other words each and every marriage has its challenges, but it does not mean the whole world needs to know about what is happening.
“This is one thing that has the potential of destroying any leader and what is important is how the two handle the issue and not how many friends they seek to convince in public.”
