Zimbabwe’s main opposition MDC party has appointed an acting president following the death of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who passed away last night after a long illness. Nelson Chamisa, the party’s former deputy, was nominated as interim president as hundreds of party supporters gathered outside the headquarters on Thursday to grieve and celebrate Mr Tsvangirai’s life.
The party said they had lost 65-year-old Tsvangirai at a crucial period, just months from elections even as they mourn a feud over who should succeed Tsvangirai as leader. One vice-president, Elias Mudzuri and several senior party members were absent from the national executive meeting.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa opposition leader Tsvangirai, who died on Wednesday, will be accorded a state burial. The Zimbabwe Herald reported that Mnangagwa said Government would assist in every possible way to ensure a dignified send-off for Mr Tsvangirai.
“We will make him State-assisted funeral,” he said. "It will be taken by the State. We had him as Prime Minister for a period of five years or so, it’s very important that we as a Government we must pay our respects to one of us.”
Mnangagwa had also sent a condolence message to the Tsvangirai family.
He described the former trade unionist as a national figure “who obdurately insisted on free, fair, credible and non-violent elections as a way of strengthening our democracy and our overall re-engagement with the rest of the world”.
“On behalf of the ruling Zanu-PF party, Government, our nation, and that of my family, I wish to express deepest condolences to the Tsvangirai family on the sad passing yesterday (Wednesday) of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, the former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and leader of the opposition MDC-T party,” he said.
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