By Dakarai Tembo

There was drama at Bulawayo Holiday Inn Hotel where MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, held a stormy meeting in an attempt to quash tribal wars at Bulawayo City Council (BCC) pitying BCC Mayor, Solomon Mguni and his Deputy, Tinashe Kambarami.

A frothy Chamisa literary failed to moderate the meeting which was attended by BCC stakeholders including the Civic Society Organizations, student bodies, the business community and churches.

Tempers flared at the meeting prompting Chamisa to scorn BCC leadership as ‘City boys’ owing to their tribal tendencies which he said were tarnishing the image of the MDC Alliance both locally and internationally.

A highly placed MDC source that attended the meeting revealed that upon sensing the intensity of the tempers at the meeting, Chamisa accused Kambarami of overstepping his boundaries by firing Town Clerk, Christopher Dube. Chamisa described Kambarami’s actions as ‘irrational and uncalculated’ before directing him and his team to apologise to Dube and the residents.

Chamisa is said to have taken his attack on Kambarami a notch higher describing him as an ‘ignorant person’ a point at which Kambarami instantly jumped to his feet profusely apologizing and admitting that he was indeed ignorant.

However, the source added that the manner in which Kambarami reacted to the scorn from his boss was stage managed to appease the Ndebele people at the meeting. “The dress down on Kambarami was definitely stage managed to tone down the tempers that were heightening during the meeting. Again it is no secret that Kambarami is Chamisa’s confidant,” said the source.

The opposition leader was to go a step further in his bid to woo the Ndebeles  by confessing that he had imposed BCC Mayor Solomon Mguni because he is educated, but remarked that he was disappointed in his tribal tendencies which he said were ‘uncivilised’ and least expected them from him. According to the source, the Ndebele people objected to this assertion saying Mguni was a learned and accomplished lawyer. They went on to urge Chamisa to restructure the Provincial Executive arguing that it was full of Shona people. Chamisa, however, claimed that he had moved to recall Kambarami and Mguni, but the MDC Alliance National Standing Council vetoed the decision giving them a second chance.

Meanwhile, as the meeting was in motion, Mthwakazi Republic Party was pitched outside the venue singing obscenities and calling for the removal of Shona people from BCC. MDC Alliance members in the meeting hackled and accused that party’s Vice President, Professor Welshman Ncube of organizing the demonstration and causing chaos, an allegation Prof Ncube vehemently denied further stoking the fires of dissention in that meeting.

Turning on to calls for demonstrations against Government, Chamisa posited that the MDC Alliance is not going to demonstrate against Government, but would engage on national prayer from 28 July 2019 to 3 August 2019; after which they would then go onto the streets.

Elsewhere, MDC Alliance ‘motormouth’ legislator, Job Sikhala, over the weekend in Epworth; preached exactly the opposite of Chamisa’s gospel of peace saying Zimbabweans should take to the streets against Government. His faction leader, and MDC Vice President, Tendai Biti, in the stormy meeting made it no secret that he was against Chamisa’s diplomatic approach towards Government.