‘Tsvangirai might not handle 2018 polls’
Morgan Tsvangirai’s ally Eddie Cross has revealed that the family of the MDC-T leader is worried that his health might not allow him to handle the 2018 general elections as well as assume responsibilities of President of the country.
“Now, just as we expect a wave of support for our 2018 Chakachaya programme, he is suffering from an aggressive form of colon cancer,” Cross wrote on his blog in an article titled Life is not fair.
“He has been struggling with his treatment and the family is concerned that he might not handle the election and subsequently, the responsibility of being President of a country in a deep crisis.
“After a lifetime of principled struggle, to have it all threatened by a disease in your body. Life can be a bastard at times.”
Tsvangirai is currently battling cancer of the colon and was recently airlifted to neighbouring South Africa to receive treatment.
The MDC-T leader’s illness has not only thrown his party into disarray, but also opposition parties that had selected him as the face of a grand coalition against Mugabe in next year’s elections.
In an emotionally-charged article, Cross described the trials and tribulations of the MDC since its formation in 1999 and how Tsvangirai has been carrying the hopes of many Zimbabweans going into next year’s elections.
Cross also sympathised with embattled Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa for being “betrayed” by President Robert Mugabe, a person whom he served all his life.
“And if you think that is a tough situation, just think about Emmerson Mnangagwa, who in the past two weeks has just recovered from being poisoned at a Zanu PF rally, been lambasted publicly on several occasions by the so-called ‘First Lady’ and now humiliated in public by the President, someone whom he has loyally supported all his life,” Cross said.
He said Mnangagwa played a pivotal role in keeping Mugabe in power.
“Many will argue that those who live by the sword will die in the same way,” Cross said.
“But still, it’s a tough call for a man whose whole life has been dedicated to his party and the State President, even though he (Mnangagwa) knows fully well that the President, more than any other person, is at the very centre of our problems and must go or the country runs the risk of either armed conflict, a coup or simply becoming a failed State.”
By Everson Mushava
