Tsvangirai: My Private Life Did Not Influence 2013 Elections
'I didn't rape anyone, I didn't snatch anyone’s wife, and I have not broken up with my wife. And if I have a problem in my own house what has that got to do with the people?'
WASHINGTON DC — Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has refused to take any personal responsibility for his party’s waning fortunes, saying his turbulent private life had nothing to do with his party's poor performance in the 2013 general election won by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party. Tsvangirai told VOA Studio 7 in an exclusive interview that claims that his personal life affected the outcome of the polls were allegations made by his enemies designed to discredit him. "Don’t you quarrel with your wife? And if I have a problem in my own house what has that got to do with the people? Surely can we say people’s lives can be determined by how Tsvangirai is conducting his personal affairs? No. These issues are private. They are my personal issues. I didn't rape anyone, I didn't snatch anyone’s wife, and I have not broken up with my wife. “All these issues being raised about me are childish play being raised by those thinking ‘if we raise the issue of women we can damage Tsvangirai’s reputation’. If truth be told about those who are saying these things, the sun can set and rise while we are still revealing who snatched whose wife.” The fiery politician, who defeated President Mugabe in the presidential poll but failed to garner enough votes to form a government, said these issues have nothing to do with members of the public. “ ...Besides, whatever I did wrong in my own matrimony, I will be judged by God. And this goes to everyone out there; as they say, those who leave in glass houses should not throw stones, you are all not saints." Tsvangirai’s wife, Susan, died in a car accident in 2009, a situation which forced him to look for another woman. But his search has been linked to a string of women and broken hearts.