* Two of the PM’s former lovers came forward this week
* Tsvangirai spokesman blames security services
(Adds background, quotes)
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s plan to get married this weekend was thwarted on
Friday after a magistrate ruled he was already married to a
former flame, the latest twist in a scandal that has gripped the
southern African nation.
The dispute – which has seen two women challenge his wedding
plans – has handed long-serving President Robert Mugabe
political ammunition as he seeks to extend his three-decade rule
in an election expected within a year since Tsvangirai is his
main rival.
Lawyers for the premier said on Friday they would appeal the
magistrate’s ruling, issued less than 24 hours before
Tsvangirai’s wedding to fiancee Elizabeth Macheka was due to go
ahead.
“The court made its ruling and now we don’t agree with it,”
Thabani Mpofu, one of the lawyers, told reporters. “We are going
to launch an urgent High Court application, which will be heard
either tonight or tomorrow morning before the wedding.”
Whatever the outcome of the appeal, the brouhaha has damaged
Tsvangirai’s reputation and raised questions about his
relationships with women and money.
Former lover Locardia Karimatsenga earlier this week tried
to block the wedding on the grounds she was already wed to
60-year-old Tsvangirai under Zimbabwe’s “customary marriage”
law.
Continued…
