The ManicaPost
Chenai Mutasa
Post Correspondent
The various formations of the MDC recently marked 21 years of the party’s formation on September 11, 1999.
As expected, MDC Alliance leader, Mr Nelson Chamisa, used the occasion to tweet about how some unnamed entities had allegedly tried to break and divide the party in vain.
However, the party’s anniversary date – 9/11- is quite interesting.
On the same day — September 11 in 2001 — Al Qaeda terrorists dealt the United States a severe and unprecedented blow by using hijacked passenger planes to attack the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
Just like the US was attacked by terrorists that were led by the late Osama Bin Laden (who had been trained by the same country), an analysis of the MDC’s 21-year history shows that the party has been decimated by internal forces.
It is clear that the party’s founding leader, the late Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, and now Mr Chamisa, played an active role in reducing the party to the state that it is in today.
Kitchen cabinet and powerful aides
At just five years old, the MDC was already embroiled in factions.
Despite Mr Tsvangirai’s saintly and heroic picture as painted by members of the various formations of the party, the late opposition leader is responsible for its woes.
By July 2005, the party was already fractious. Mr Tsvangirai would surround himself with aides and other people who subsequently became more powerful than party officials, including the then vice-president, the late Mr Gibson Sibanda; the then secretary-general, Professor Welshman Ncube; deputy secretary-general, Mr Gift Chimanikire and the national treasurer, Mr Fletcher Dulini.
Mr Tsvangirai surrounded himself with cheerleaders like Mr Ian Makone. These cheerleaders would not criticise him. By doing so, Mr Tsvangirai alienated himself from the people who enjoyed grassroots support. Therefore by side-lining people-backed leaders, Mr Tsvangirai also side-lined some grassroots members.
The senatorial election dictatorship
The straw that broke the fractious MDC camel’s back was the senatorial elections of 2005.
The party was generally agreed that it would participate in the senatorial elections, but Tsvangirai held an opposing view.
The matter was discussed by the MDC National Council on October 12, 2005 and the members voted. The result was 33-31 in favour of participating in the election.
Notwithstanding this, Mr Tsvangirai told the media that the poll was tied at 50-50, arguing that Prof Ncube had disregarded the proxy votes from Ms Sekai Holland and Ms Grace Kwinjeh. As if this blatant lie was not enough, he went on to override the National Council and imposed the party’s non-participation in the poll. He argued that it would be pointless to take part in a poll where the results would be “predetermined” and “illegitimate.”
However, his actions were a violation of clauses 4.4 (a), 6.1.1 (a) and (d) of the MDC constitution.
Mr Sibanda and other party leaders called him to a disciplinary hearing, which he spurned.
This marked the beginning of the end of the party, with Prof Ncube and the late Mr Sibanda forming the MDC-N, which further split into MDC-M under Professor Arthur Mutambara.
Even Mr Job Sikhala, despite lacking the requisite clout, also formed his own MDC-99 before tracing his steps back to the MDC in 2015.
Government of National Unity and beyond
Mr Tsvangirai continued to run the party as his personal property.
Despite the concerns raised over his kitchen cabinet, his inner circle continued to exist and it peaked during the Government of National Unity (GNU) from 2009 to 2013.
During this period, the party was so well-funded by Western countries that he ended up running a parallel Government in what was termed the Office of the Prime Minister.
The recent clashes between Mr Chamisa and MDC-T leader, Dr Thokozani Khupe, over the party’s headquarters — Harvest House — exposed Mr Tsvangirai’s careless spending and lack of foresight.
Instead of investing in party property, Mr Tsvangirai invested in women. He even earned the moniker “legend of the seas”. At one time he paid a princely settlement of US$300 000 after separating with one lady days after marrying her.
Some of the highlights of Mr Tsvangirai’s career post-2013 include how he organised violent party youths to assault Mr Elton Mangoma in February 2014 for questioning his poor leadership pedigree.
He contributed to the ongoing conflicts by irregularly appointing Mr Chamisa and Engineer Elias Mudzuri as vice-presidents in 2016, after a fall out with Dr Khupe.
Enter Mr Chamisa
Mr Chamisa is described by his followers as Mr Tsvangirai’s disciple. One thing that readily attests to this is his blatant disregard for the party’s constitution. In a bid to beat Dr Khupe to the party’s top job following Mr Tsvangirai’s demise in February 2018, Mr Chamisa irregularly used both party structures and violence.
This disregard for the party’s charter and his trashing of the March 31, 2020 Supreme Court judgement which pronounced that his rise to power was irregular, is exuberating the multiple challenges that the MDC formations are facing today.
The culture of dictatorship, violence and disregard for the MDC constitution, which was fostered by Mr Tsvangirai, are the other causes of the challenges facing the party today.
Time to face the demons
Instead of burying his head in the sand and pointing fingers at Zanu PF, Mr Chamisa needs to own up to his contribution to the party’s messy state.
MDC formation members should face the demons in the MDC, period. They should confront Mr Chamisa over his perpetuation of Mr Tsvangirai’s culture of fighting internal democracy for personal benefit.
Instead of ranting against Zanu PF over the recall of their legislators and councillors, they should nail Mr Chamisa for it, because he is the Osama Bin Laden of that party. Within a period of two years, he has organised and orchestrated the destruction of the MDC.
