Mugabe’s chief political foe Tsvangirai dies
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, the veteran Zimbabwean opposition leader who stood up to Robert Mugabe’s regime, yesterday lost his battle against cancer.
Mr Tsvangirai, who founded the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999, was among the most prominent critics of Mr Mugabe, the long-time authoritarian leader ousted from power in November.
Lidya Chibwe, Mr Tsvangirai’s mother, was at his side when he died and his family had been keeping a vigil at the hospital for the last few weeks after his health deteriorated following a diagnosis of colon cancer.
Elizabeth, his second wife, confirmed his death.
People were weeping openly in central Harare as news of Mr Tsvangirai’s death at the age of 65 spread around town.
It throws uncertainty over his MDC party less than three months after the army ousted Mr Mugabe, his 93-year-old foe, from the presidency.
Elections are due within the next six months and Mr Tsvangirai’s death leaves his party in disarray, to the advantage of the ruling Zanupf party, now led by Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“It is sad for me to announce that we have lost our icon and fighter for democracy,” Elias Mudzuri, one of the vice-presidents of the MDC, said on Twitter.
Mr Mugabe’s government detained Mr Tsvangirai on numerous occasions over his criticism of the regime.
Security forces swooped on Mr Tsvangirai in 1989 after he bluntly warned about the rising tide of political repression in the country.
Mr Tsvangirai also claimed to have been the target of four assassination attempts – including one in 1997 in which he said attackers attempted to throw him out of his office window. Mr Tsvangirai faced off against Mr Mugabe three times at the ballot box and had been expected to oppose him once again in presidential elections set for 2018.
A teetotal non-smoker from Zimbabwe’s majority Shona community, he had widely been seen as the best hope for reviving Zimbabwe’s divided politics and moribund economy and was a forceful anti-corruption advocate. Mr Tsvangirai was recognised on several occasions for his commitment to political change. In 2016 he announced that he was undergoing chemotherapy to treat colon cancer.