Tsvangirai’s alleged ‘wife’ attempted suicide

By Nkululeko Sibanda

Details have emerged that Locadia Karimatsenga Tembo, the woman who is currently making headlines over her alleged marriage to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, reportedly attempted to commit suicide in desperation after the PM rejected her three months ago.

The Daily News, has been told that a few months ago when Tembo fell pregnant, she decided elope to Tsvangirai’s home which in Shona is widely known as kutizira.

But Tsvangirai, while accepting the pregnancy steadfastly refused to marry her and turned her away but she reportedly started behaving in a strange manner and threatened to kill herself at the Prime Minister’s Strathaven house.

Sources close to Tsvangirai said this alarmed the Prime Minister and his relatives. One of Tsvangirai’s relatives decided to take her to his house and managed to convince her against taking her own life.

“On discovering that Tsvangirai was not interested in marrying her, she threatened him with exposing the affair, the pregnancy and throwing herself in front of Prime Minister’s official Mercedes Benz vehicle while it was in motion. This is when people realised she was serious,” said a close Tsvangirai family member.

While Tsvangirai had in the past refused to listen to advice on his relationship with Tembo, he had been “thoroughly” briefed by sympathisers from Zanu PF about her past and about her close links to the system.

Tsvangirai, aided by his advisors then decided to pay “damages” for the woman hoping that she and her family would be satisfied. But the family, now being aided by suspected state operatives decided to dramatise the issue and said the Prime Minister had paid lobola for Tembo. On the day damages were paid, her family members phoned all media houses to run the story that Tsvangirai had married.

“It’s now worse. Tsvangirai has vowed that she will never marry the woman come hell or high water. He is angry that she is working with state agents to destroy him, he is unhappy that Zanu PF agents are now at the forefront of damaging him using her.”

“Tsvangirai was not pleased when she went to Buhera without his knowledge and ambushed that old woman (Tsvangirai’s mother) and used the state media to take pictures to imply that she indeed is married when in fact she has just eloped. This has incensed him to an extent that he insists he cannot marry the woman.

“He indicated that he had discovered things that showed him she was not the right woman for him given his status as the Prime Minister and hopefully President. She was also told plainly by Tsvangirai that her past was so dangerous that it could be used by his detractors to destroy his standing in society.”

“She is a desperate women — she claims to have been married by Tsvangirai but she tells the state media that she is staying with the Prime Minister’s uncle. Why would she stay with an uncle when her so called husband is there,” questioned the source.

Tembo is believed to be still in Buhera but Tsvangirai has refused to entertain her. Efforts and discussions are being made to persuade her to move out of the Tsvangirai homestead, the Daily News has been informed.

So angry is Tsvangirai with the publicity around the issue that he has reportedly refused to entertain a group of individuals in the MDC who helped set up the “marriage” in a bid to get closer to the Prime Minister.

Tsvangirai has been told that some  unscrupulous elements close to Tsvangirai had advised the woman to elope to the Tsvangirai home saying it would work because as Prime Minister he would be under pressure to take her as the wife.

“It is very clear that Locadia would not think of doing what she did, eloping to Tsvangirai’s home, on her own. Someone close to the Prime Minister advised her to do that as a way of forcing Tsvangirai to marry her against his own will.

“There is belief in the MDC and in some sections of the Prime Minister’s office that there is now a Zanu PF and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) hand in  all this as all things she appears to be doing are well calculated and structured, with the state media on tow,” the source said.

Contacted for comment, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai would issue a statement on his own regarding the matter and all that has happened so far. He said the premier would explain to the people of Zimbabwe some efforts being done by his detractors, through elements in Zanu PF to damage his reputation.

“There is a ploy being orchestrated by members of the CIO and the state media to fabricate, misrepresent, malign, mismatch, and lie about the PM’s story. They are taking advantage of the current story on which he is going to make a public announcement in due course, to destroy his standing. All that will come to nought when he speaks about the issue some time very soon,” said Tamborinyoka.

As revealed by the Daily News, Karimatsenga is carrying Tsvangirai’s twins. Tsvangirai is said to have discovered this when he was in the US in September when he allegedly communicated with Karimatsenga on the need to end their relationship. This is when the woman disclosed that she was already pregnant. Daily News