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Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change has suspended its leader Morgan Tsvangirai for violating the opposition party’s constitution, Secretary General Tendai Biti said. The move is seen to deepen already existing divisions in the opposition ranks.

They also accused Tsvangirai and his lieutenants of resisting a leadership change after losing a third general election to Mugabe last July and of using violence against internal challengers.

The turmoil within the MDC Party is a gift to the 90-year-old Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 despite frequent Western criticism over human rights and accusations of economic mismanagement.