FORMER Prime Minister and founding MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai put aside his own ambitions for the sake of the country’s suffering masses, his daughter has said.
In a statement commemorating the first anniversary of his death, Tsvangirai’s daughter Vimbai, the opposition MDC Alliance’s MP for Glen View South said the former Prime Minister had also rejected participating in elections for self-gratification.
“He (Tsvangirai) put aside his own ambition to become leader of this country in order to allow for peace and tranquillity to prevail in Zimbabwe,” said Vimbai making reference to Tsvangirai’s decision to join the Government of National Unity in 2009.
Tsvangirai won the first round of presidential elections in 2008 but the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission took five weeks to announce the results giving credence to claims there was manipulation of figures.
Zec then claimed Tsvangirai had failed to get the constitutional threshold of 50% plus one vote required to take power and allocated to the late opposition leader 47% instead. The Zanu PF leader former President Robert Mugabe came second with 43%. However Mugabe used the military in a bloody campaign ahead of the run-off election from which Tsvangirai pulled out citing systematic violence against his supporters.
Mugabe won the one man-show but the result was rejected across the world forcing Mugabe into a shaky coalition government with Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai died last year on Valentines’s Day losing a two year fight against colon cancer. New party leader Nelson Chamisa took charge in controversial circumstances amid claims, Tsvangirai’s family was against his rise to power.
Chamisa rejected last year’s presidential election result and has also rebuffed calls from Mnangagwa for dialogue.
Vimbai said Tsvangirai was a democrat throughout his life and a hero to many Zimbabweans.
“He refused to take part in the re-run elections that were just meant for self-gratification of an individual who had no regard for democratic values.
“Tsvangirai will always be remembered as a hero to Zimbabweans. It is my deepest desire that as Zimbabweans we carry through his legacy,” she said.
