Tsvangirai snubs visit from Tembo family

By John Nyashanu

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday left for South Africa amid reports he has slammed the door on relatives of his lover Locadia Tembo who are reportedly unhappy that he has denied ever intending to marry her.

Tsvangirai denied he had an appointment with anyone from the Tembo family.

The wrangle has all but turned into a circus with the two sides giving sharply contrasting versions of what really transpired on Monday when the PM’s emissaries visited the Tembo family to make a payment, which the latter claims was lobola/roora.

The Tsvangirai camp insists they merely paid for damages as compensation for the pregnancy.

Though the purpose of the Premier’s visit to South Africa was not immediately clear, some felt he had gone to reassure his children based there, following the pregnancy scandal that has literally shredded the family’s image.

A close aide to Tsvangirai confirmed the trip, but declined to elaborate on the matter. And as the Premier boarded the plane to SA, his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka was denying ever meeting Tembo’s family members on Thursday.

State media claimed Tamborinyoka and Tsvangirai’s close confidante Ian Makone had met the Tembo family, including her uncle, Simon Karimatsenga, to express their displeasure at the way the alleged marriage was being handled.

“On the day in question, I attended a funeral in Masvingo,” Tamborinyoka said.

“According to The Herald, I attended a meeting in my absence. For all his miracles, Jesus Christ was never in Galilee and Jerusalem at the same time.”

Karimatsenga reportedly claimed: “I, as the head of the family, can testify that Mr Tsvangirai indeed paid lobola for my niece.”

Tsvangirai has been linked to a number of women since the death of his wife Susan in a car accident two years ago. NewsDay