Bulawayo – Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to take legal action against deputy president Phelekezela Mphoko, who claimed during a television broadcast that the former prime minister was involved in the atrocities of the 1980s.
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was also accused by Mphoko of attempting to assassinate liberation icon Joshua Nkomo during the disturbances.
Mphoko made the allegations on state television this past weekend ahead of President Robert Mugabe’s birthday celebrations set for Matobo, one of the areas worst affected by the atrocities infamously referred to as Gukurahundi.
Some 20 000 civilians were killed after Mugabe unleashed a North Korean-trained army purportedly to crash dissidents from Nkomo’s opposition Zapu party.
Mphoko claimed Tsvangirai was behind some atrocities in the Tsholotsho area south of the country and hatched a plan to assassinate Nkomo.
Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, dismissed the claims as reckless and malicious.
“He (Mphoko) surely owes the nation an elaborate substantiation of his fanciful allegations that do not befit the high office he holds. He will surely have his day in court,” Tamborinyoka said.
“Mphoko will soon be hearing from (MDC) president Tsvangirai’s lawyers about his false and defamatory allegations.”
Tsvangirai has previously been accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe, but was, however, cleared by a court.
The latest allegations against Tsvangirai have been dismissed by his MDC party as a ploy to malign him ahead of elections scheduled for 2018.
His longtime rival Mugabe, who turns 93 this month, has been confirmed as the presidential candidate for Zanu-PF despite his advanced age.
The southern Matabeleland region, where the atrocities were committed, is a stronghold for the MDC.