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Tsvangirai isn't patriotic to lead Zim - chieftainess

Tsvangirai isn't patriotic to lead Zim - chieftainess
By Brighton Phiri in Manzini, Swaziland
Sunday July 20, 2008 [04:00]

MORGAN Tsvangirai is not the right person to lead Zimbabwe because he is a puppet of the West, Zimbabwean chieftainesss Katsomathe of Matebeleland has said.
And South African traditional leader Nkhosi Thobejane asked the SADC traditional leaders to speak out on the Zimbabweans' righ
to their own land.

In an interview, chieftainess Katsomathe, who is in Swaziland to attend the Women for Change (WfC) organised Southern African Development Community (SADC) conference, said Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai was not patriotic enough to lead the country.

"All these false stories you are hearing about brutality in Zimbabwe are orchestrated by Morgan in order for the outside world to hate President Mugabe," she said. "How can we trust Morgan to lead us when he is leading a syndicate which is inciting Zimbabweans to run away to the neighbouring countries to show that Zimbabwe was not peaceful."

Chieftainess Katsomathe, who has been on the throne for 19 years in Zimbagwe chiefdom, said the world risked being misled on the true picture of Zimbabwe's situation if they continued to depend on Tsvangirai as source of their information.
"They must realise that we have two political parties in Zimbabwe which are fighting for power. Both of these parties have vested interest, which they want the world to take," she said.

She said in order for the world to demonise President Mugabe, Tvsangirai was inciting some of his supporters into destitution.

Chieftainess Katsomathe, 61, said the sanctions imposed by the West were just killing the poor people.

"But they will not force us to abandon our struggle for land ownership," he said. "We cannot leave our country because of suffering. God is there for us all not only for MDC."

Chieftainess Katsomathe, however, said she did not discriminate her poverty-stricken subjects when distributing relief food.

"It is wrong to starve the people because of their political affiliation. If there are such stories then it is not in my chiefdom...maybe in Mashonaland," she said.

And Nkhosi Thobejane said the issue at the centre of Zimbabwe's crisis was land ownership.

"The issue that has caused all what is happening in Zimbabwe is the land ownership which emanated from the Lancaster House agreement where Britain agreed to compensate for the land which they had taken from our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters. And it is for us the chiefs to speak out because the issue emanated from land, to which we are the custodians. It is amazing to see that the traditional leaders are nowhere in the continent to talk about it and intervene and say let us get the facts correct."
He said it was high time SADC leaders queried Britain on its failure to comply with the Lancaster agreement.

"It is not enough for us as traditional leaders to sit back and say indeed Mugabe is abusing people. What is causing these abuses? Instead of getting to the root cause, all of us have relegated and reduced ourselves to the issue of human rights and Tvsangirai.

Why is Britain not made to account for its failure to comply with the Lancaster agreement?" he asked. "Why are SADC leaders quiet when the issue in Zimbabwe is about land which was grabbed from their people and British offered to compensate but now fails to account for its action. Why are we not speaking in solidarity with those in Zimbabwe who are being attacked over their land?"

Nkhosi Thobejane urged the SADC traditional leaders to speak in solidarity if they were to remain relevant in the fight for what belonged to their people.

Labels: CHIEFS, CHIEFTAINESS KATSOMATHE, COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, LAND REFORM, MDC, NEOCOLONIALISM, WFC, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 3:59 AM