Tsvangirai too big to be destroyed by a newspaper- spokesman

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka has blasted the local daily, Newsday, for portraying the opposition leader as a dictator but added that the MDC-T leader was too big a brand to be destroyed by a newspaper.

In a statement today, Tamborinyoka said with three stories in today’s paper attacking Tsvangirai, there was no doubt that the paper was on “a well-orchestrated media crusade to attack the Morgan Tsvangirai brand”.

He said Tsvangirai had never said that there were people out there to remove him because there was never such a plot.

“It is curious that in the three stories, Tsvangirai’s voice is missing as demanded by the dictates of ethical journalism but your newspaper continues to publish highly malicious stories without the input of the intended target of your journalism,” Tamborinyoka said.

“All three stories are meant to portray Morgan Tsvangirai as a dictator and as a party leader under siege.”

Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai was too big for the newspaper to destroy.

“For the record, the Morgan Tsvangirai brand is too big to be destroyed by media houses with an agenda,” he said.

Full statement:

Tuesday, 06 October 2015

 Newsday’s needless siege on Morgan Tsvangirai

Today’s three separate stories in your newspaper attacking the same man leave no one under any doubt that the mission is a well-orchestrated media crusade to attack the Morgan Tsvangirai brand.

Your lead-story, Tsvangirai seeing shadows, is yet another build-up on a false story you published a week ago alleging that President Morgan Tsvangirai had said there are people in the party wishing to remove him from his position as party President.

For the record, President Tsvangirai never made any reference to the so-called internal plot to remove him because there is no such plot as he only received a new mandate at congress last October.

While in Chitungwiza, he never made any reference to the internal plots as you reported last week in a false story on which you are building up the lies against Tsvangirai.

It is curious that in the three stories, Tsvangirai’s voice is missing as demanded by the dictates of ethical journalism but your newspaper continues to publish highly malicious stories without the input of the intended target of your journalism.

All three stories are meant to portray Morgan Tsvangirai as a dictator and as a party leader under siege.

Curiously, your other story is based on the rantings of one Maxwell Shumba, who is purportedly speaking on behalf of the MDC when he is not the party spokesperson. He is rambling the fiction of an imagined dispute with people who are still to form their own party. Surely, how can there be a dispute over a party name with people who are still to form their own party?

Your stories, particularly those that are written by former party members are cause for concern as they continue to push suspicious agendas. For a former party member who ran in the internal MDC primary elections cannot masquerade as an objective journalist as he has his own grievances because he was unsuccessful in the internal elections.

For the record, the Morgan Tsvangirai brand is too big to be destroyed by media houses with an agenda. For a credible publication to write three separate stories in one issue, all attacking the integrity of one man but without giving him his right of reply, can only betray a malicious agenda.

Luke Tamborinyoka

Presidential Spokesperson and Director of Communications

Movement for Democratic Change

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