Zim Diaspora

Staff Reporter
MDC branch chairman for South End-on-Sea in the United Kingdom Mr Stanford Biti has described Zimbabwe’s ambassador to German Mr Hebson Makuvise as behaving like a “maggot”, The Zim Diaspora can reveal.

Mr Biti who is younger brother to Finance Minister Tendai Biti lambasted ambassador Makuvise for:

• granting an exclusive interview to President Mugabe’s state controlled Herald on Friday to discuss MDC affairs in Mugabe's "bedroom".
• denigrating Zimbabweans in diaspora when he told Herald that they were afraid of returning home because they have nothing to show for their absence
• for creating financial and administrative chaos in the MDC-UK and Ireland
• for asking South End On-sea branch to pay him £300.00 for a journey worth £20 by public transport
• for lying to The Herald that Biti was the brains in the weekly protest outside the Zimbabwe embassy in London
• for lying that Biti was suspended from the party saying he has never faced any disciplinary action of that sought
  

Ambassador Makuvise: Trusts The Herald

Usually MDC leaders prefer to give such exclusive information to independent newspapers in Harare who are not in a habit of spininng like The Herald does. The Herald-Makuvise voluntary interview was the first of its kind the state controlled newspaper has ever secured from a senior MDC leader in the face of serious cracks within the coalition.

It is public knowledge that the State Media is vehemently anti-MDC but pro-Mugabe. This, Mr Biti says is a result of lack of both common sense and lack of political experience on the part of Makuvise, hence Biti wonders what credentials made him pickable for an ambassadorial post yet with a clear sense of poor judgement.

Mr Biti insisted that Makuvise must be recalled from his ambassadorial position up until he clears the mess he "created" in the party's UK and Ireland province.

He said: “For people like us who are aware of the founding ideals of the party, we are now asking ourselves what is actually is happening in the party. More than £75 000 has gone missing in the UK, yet they entertain those who wants to silence me when Makuvise and those responsible for the missing money are allowed Scott free".

"Our future as a nation remains at stake because it is this kind of looting and silencing of dissenting voices that ZANU-PF managed to destroy such a wealthy country like Zimbabwe”.

“Mr Makuvise has gone to The Herald to tell Mugabe that I always organise protest against Mugabe’s London embassy. By doing that he is setting me up with Mugabe’s hit squads including my family. The fact of the matter is that I have never organised a demonstration against the Zimbabwe embassy. Instead, my demonstrations are always in South End on-Sea,” said Mr Biti.

He added: “The same people who accuse ZANU-PF of dictatorship are now practising it. Dictatorship is bad no matter who is practising it. When Morgan Tsvangirai fails to carry my aspirations as a dedicated party supporter, I have a right to question him because there is no POSA in Britain. Though we are now getting conflicting statements Tsvangirai has been given the Sipepa Nkomo report of missing MDC-UK funds but he has chosen to sit on it - God knows what is his next move”.

Mr Biti who also described Mr Makuvise as behaving like a ZANU-PF geriatric, said what Makuvise has told The Herald amounted to an attempt to indimidate him and violate his right to freedom of speech against burning issues that have rocked the party in the United Kingdom.

In Friday’s Herald Mr Makuvise warned Stanford’s brother Tendai Biti to discipline him for “bringing the party into disrepute”.

Tendai Biti has not responded to the Makuvise-Herald report.

“I want to make it clear to everyone that Tendai and I don’t discuss politics at all and it’s our principle. Tendai has no influence in my political activities. We only talk about family issues not the MDC. My political actions cannot be linked to my brother Tendai in anyway. For it is unfair to Tendai,” said Mr Biti.

“I joined the MDC on my own not through Tendai. I believe as a member of the MDC it is within my rights to comment on our leadership when they go astray because when we formed the MDC we agreed on transparency, accountability and democratic principles,” he said.

“Perhaps the difference between Makuvise and I is that I joined the MDC from start while Makuvise was invited to join the MDC in the UK here by Morgan Tsvangirai in Luton. But all the same we all remember that Tsvangirai had given Makuvise public instructions not to interfere with party structures in the UK, but what he did is more than what Tsvangirai bargain for,” he said.

Mr Biti said it was unfortunate that Mr Makuvise told The Herald that the diasporas were scared of returning home because they had nothing to show for the absence yet Mr Makuvise thrived on asylum seekers money in the UK.

“Mr Makuvise must understand that he was lucky to be handpicked by Morgan Tsvangirai in Luton as his special representative to the UK. Unfortunately, Mr Makuvise then took advantage of weaknesses of former MDC-UK Mr Ephraim Tapa and behaved like a maggot resulting in terrible chaos in the MDC-UK,” he said.

“I can confirm that Makuvise demanded £300.00 in October 2008 from my branch for him to attend a fundraising party in my branch for a journey that cost less that £20 by public transport. We refused point black to give him and since that time he has never forgiven me,” said Mr Biti.

He added that his branch lost £1050.00 to the Chawora executive which he had given up in trying to trace it.

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