MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora has claimed that he is not a sellout and has vowed to fight-off insinuations that he has close links with the Zanu PF party. Mwonzora has also been labelled a power-hungry monster who would do anything and everything to lead the opposition MDC-T. He won the party presidency at a controversial extraordinary congress (EOC) last December, and some party members are now challenging his ascendancy to power. NewsDay (ND) senior reporter Moses Matenga spoke to Mwonzora’s spokesperson Lloyd Damba (LD) on several issues affecting the MDC-T.
ND: How is Mwonzora taking accusations that he is a Zanu PF
appendage?
LD: He is not the first person to be accused of being an
agent or a puppet of Zanu PF. Right now, if you go to the Chitungwiza Tennis
Court in Unit D, there is graffiti that is more than 13 years old. The graffiti
alleges that Job Sikhala (MDC Alliance vice-chairperson) is a Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative and Welshman Ncube (MDC Alliance
vice-president) is also CIO and a Zanu PF project. Such graffiti is all over
the country. It was painted during the 2005 MDC split.
In 2013, we also saw Tendai Biti (MDC Alliance
vice-president) and Elton Mangoma being accused of the same. Now, these
gentlemen sit at the tip of Nelson Chamisa’s MDC Alliance advisory table. The
question now is: Have these gentlemen ceased to be CIO or Zanu PF projects? So
if somebody has a divergent opinion or differs with anybody other than Zanu PF,
he or she is alleged to be a Zanu PF project? I beg to differ. Mind you, the
2005 split was also along constitutional differences within the party top
leadership. This is the same script
today. Mind you our party constitution was not written by Zanu PF, but by us.
Secondly, one of those that were very vocal about that
narrative and propaganda against Mwonzora, saying that he was working with Zanu
PF is one Lillian Timveous, who then was the leader and chief principal officer
of a cabal surrounding Chamisa. This was during the run-up to the Gweru
congress where she was vying for the post of vice-president of the party. Just
recently, the same accuser made her new political home known, Zanu PF. So who
is working with Zanu PF here?
Thirdly, a Zanu PF apologist can be defined as a person who
accommodates Zanu PF members. Look who
is surrounding Chamisa. There is Jim Kunaka, Jeppy Jaboon, Shadreck
Mashayamombe, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Jonathan Moyo — all former Zanu PF
functionaries. Look at the people who are surrounding Mwonzora, we have Tapiwa
Mashakada, Paurina Mpariwa, Collin Gwiyo, Giles Mutsekwa, Gift Chimanikire,
Elias Mudzuri, James Makore and many MDC founding members. Now judge for
yourself.
ND: What is your 2023 target in terms of numbers seeing
that the party’s presidential candidate in 2018 garnered only 45 000 votes
while the MDC Alliance got over 2 million votes?
LD: We are in the
middle of a restructuring exercise and we have an ordinary congress that is
also coming soon, so let me respond to you about our new set target after that
congress.
Secondly, our party is one seventh of the MDC Alliance
partners which are the People’s Democratic Party led by Biti, Transform
Zimbabwe led by Jacob Ngarivhume and four others. Our presidential candidate then who was
representing the MDC-T in the Alliance was Chamisa. If you had been following
events from August 6, 2014 the day of the signing of the composite political
co-operation agreement known as the MDC Alliance, to the day that party founder
Morgan Tsvangirai passed on, and to the Supreme Court case appeal by Chamisa,
where he was arguing that he was the legitimate president of the MDC-T through
his lawyer Thabani Mpofu until today, you will see that we are the MDC
Alliance.
The composite political co-operation agreement was not and
is not dissolution of the MDC-T formerly led by Tsvangirai. It actually
concretised its independence from other political parties. In other words, we
are in the MDC Alliance.
ND: The rift in your party, given what Thokozani Khupe said
last week seems to be widening. What is
being done to address the problems the party is currently facing?
LD: As far as everybody is concerned, there is no rift in
the party. If somebody has highlighted grey areas that he or she wants to be
addressed, then that is the sweetness of democracy and it shows that the party
guarantees freedom to any individual to air their grievances. So this must not
be mistaken for a rift.
Secondly, the president has always been meeting with
members of the leadership, the deputy president included as confirmed in her
tweet which is a way of resolving and ironing out any grey areas that may be
there. However, details of such meetings are not for public consumption.
ND: Does the president have powers to appoint members of
the national standing committee and is this not the same issue that was
disputed in the courts which then nullified the appointment of Chamisa and
Mudzuri by Tsvangirai?
LD: One must understand first the composition of the
national council. The national council is composed of all members of the
standing committee in terms of article 6.4.3. In terms of article 9.21.3 which
clearly states that: “Subject to this constitution, in the event of the death
or resignation of any member of the national council, the same shall elect a
person to fill the vacancy pending the next congress.” The party had vacancies
caused by office bearers who left the party to join the Chamisa outfit, after
the latter lost his Supreme Court appeal to remain the MDC-T president.
In his report to the national council, the president highlighted that there are vacancies in the national standing committee and it was the duty of the national council to fill those vacancies and the proposal was adopted by the national council. He then proposed names of long-serving party members for the national council who are Mashakada, Mutsekwa, Khalipani Phugeni and Chief Ndlovu, among others and these names were unanimously seconded without any counter nominations. So those vacancies were filled in terms of the above-mentioned article, not the narrative that has been circulating.
ND: What is your take on the narrative by MDC Alliance supporters that the MDC-T is a party of power-hungry individuals most of whom failed to win at the Gweru congress and are now pursuing an agenda?
LD: The Gweru
congress itself, if truth be told, was called by Chamisa six months before the
term of office of the 2014 structures expired with members who held divergent
views and did not agree in the manner Chamisa ascended to the throne. This was
a way to avoid the EOC which had been ordered by Justice Edith Mushore earlier
on May 8 2019.
So if anybody is to be accused of having an insatiable
appetite for power, it is the other side that had no patience to follow
constitutionally laid down procedures.
ND: On the issue of dialogue, what is the party position on
Polad?
LD: Mwonzora has been emphasising about a national dialogue
— a dialogue that is meaningful, inclusive and unconditional.
So if you look at the Polad constitutive document or its
code of conduct, it is exclusive to individuals who participated in the 2018
harmonised elections and thus excludes labour, church, business, traditional
leaders and other civic society groups. We, therefore, call for another forum
that is inclusive of all the above-mentioned players, with a clear objective of
what must be achieved and timeframes and set targets. Newsday
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