The mayoral election brought to the fore the MDC Alliance (read MDC-T Chamisa faction) leader, Nelson Chamisa’s dictatorial tendencies and the deep-seated and serious power struggles in that political outfit despite public claims of championing democracy.
Since the late Morgan Tsvangirai’s illness early in the year it was evident that, although he was popular with the party’s youths, he was not as well-liked among its top leadership. Many will vividly remember the bare-fanged fight for the party’s leadership involving him and two other party vice presidents, Elias Mudzuri and Dr Thokozani Khupe.
Enter Biti and Ncube
Tsvangirai’s concept of an opposition coalition gave the much needed salvation package to former party stalwarts who had left the MDC following its split in 2005 and 2014. These included Tendai Biti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Professor Welshman Ncube of MDC-N who had virtually been in political wilderness. Ncube had lost control of the party which he founded to Lucia Matibenga and badly needed a political home. Tsvangirai’s initiative started as an extension of an olive branch to some people, who had left the party under his “big tent” call, which saw some members such as Job Sikhala who abandoned his MDC 99 party to re-join the party. Throw into the fray the party’s Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora who beat him for the position during the MDC’s 2014 congress.
Realising that he is encircled by fellow senior opposition members who have tasted power in the MDC corridors and are, obviously, also eyeing the party’s top post, against the background of his failed bid for the country’s job and impending electoral congress, Chamisa is ring-fencing himself and making moves to consolidate his power ahead of the party’s internal national elections which are due sometimes next year.
Mayoral election gladiatorial arena
In view of the foregoing background two contenders for Chamisa’s crown have emerged from the crowd and tacitly thrown the gauntlet. These are Biti and Mwonzora. Biti’s position as a legislator in the just-sworn in ninth parliament at a time that Chamisa was left clutching at tufts of air by President Mnangagwa during the July election, places him in better stead to gain and exert influence over fellow MDC legislators in the august house. Add to this the possibility of him being made the leader of the opposition in the parliament and Chamisa’s blood boils with anger.
Following Chamisa’s electoral loss, some sections of the party are already venting their waning patience with him and propping Mwonzora to take over from him when the party holds its congress next year. The Twitter social media platform is already abuzz with campaigns such a #Chamisa ngaaende (Chamisa must go) ahead of the congress. This clique of MDC-T Chamisa faction supporters is incensed that it was during his tenure as the national organising secretary that the party lost to ZANU PF in 2013, a “feat” which he repeated again five years later this time around as the party’s leader.
Faced with these present threats to his leadership, Chamisa used his position to impose some mayoral candidates on some towns and cities such as Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Masvingo and Victoria Falls among others to ensure full control of the urban areas. This turned the mayoral election process into a gladiatorial arena complete with blood on the floor. The process laid bare Chamisa’s dictatorial habits as he defied the will of both party members and residents’ associations who form the electorate. Despite claiming to lead “a party of excellence,” Chamisa tossed the democracy rule book out of the Harvest House window and even disrespected the people in general by disregarding the choices of his own councillors, who were representing the residents who voted for them.
In Chitungwiza, he ensured that his preferred mayoral candidate Councillor Gift Tsverere won the mayor’s position against former deputy mayor, Councillor, Goodwill Mushangwe who was the popular choice of both fellow councillors and party members. Mushangwe had to pull out his candidature before the elections under unclear circumstances. Party members caused commotion outside the Chitungwiza council chambers as they demanded that senior leaders from their party, Voice Chinake, Morgan Femai, Dickson Tarusenga and Job Sikhala should leave the chambers but they refused in order to ensure that Chamisa’s choice prevailed against perceived Biti-inclined councillors through intimidating them.
In Victoria Falls residents preferred Ward 9 Councillor, Somvelo Dhlamini, who they felt hailed from the area and understood their concerns better, while Chamisa and his faction’s leadership preferred Ward 9 Councillor, Eliphias Mambune and Ward 3 Councillor, Margaret Valley as mayor and deputy mayor respectively. The two were reportedly invited to the party’s Harvest House offices for interviews. The election had to be deferred in mid-process after the MDC-T Chamisa faction director for mobilisation and party building, Farai Chinobva tried to force Dhlamini to contest for the deputy mayor’s post since Chamisa’s choice was Valley, which incensed residents. The residents indicated that they would not give in to Chamisa’s machinations. People power prevailed over Chamisa’s selfish designs as Dhlamini eventually won.
Mayoral elections in Bulawayo were equally mired in Chamisa-authored controversy as he dispatched Chinobva to encamp in the city to ensure that his preferred mayoral candidate, Solomon Mguni won against Norman Hlabani who was the other councillors’ choice. Mguni won, thus ensuring that Chamisa’s interests would be taken care of in the city.
Merchant of Violence
If there is anything that Chamisa learnt from Tsvangirai and seriously took to heart, it is the use of violence against anyone perceived to be an enemy. Dr Khupe and Mwonzora escaped death by a whisker when the party’s dreaded violent Vanguard thugs attempted to torch a hut in which they had taken refuse during Tsvangirai’s burial in Buhera in February this year. The mayoral elections were not an exception. In Chitungwiza party members protesting the presence of Femai and company vented their anger on a pregnant Herald correspondent, Yeukayi Karengezeka who was covering the event. Karengezeka was violently shoved by the members endangering her and her unborn baby.
During the Masvingo mayoral elections party youths attacked and manhandled NewsDay Masvingo correspondent, Tatenda Chitagu and dispossessed him of his mobile phone for trying to interview the winner MDC Alliance Ward 12 Councillor, Collins Maboke who prevailed against their preferred candidate, Ward 4 Councillor, Godfrey Kurauone. These dastardly incidents invited concern and condemnation from both the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) and justifiably so too.
Fed up
Amid the power-drunk Chamisa’s shameless shenanigans, it emerged that MDC Chamisa faction councillors are fed up with his politics of hand-holding and outright dictatorship. In Chitungwiza two MDC councillors voted for a ZANU PF councillor obviously out of frustration with Chamisa’s needless micromanagement of the mayoral electoral process.
Masvingo’s seven MDC Alliance councillors, apparently stung by Chamisa’s control freak politics, voted for a ZANU PF councillor, Wellington Mahwende as the city’s deputy mayor much to the chagrin of the party’s supporters and Chamisa. Masvingo has seven MDC Chamisa faction councillors while ZANU PF has three. Given this type and scale of frustration, one wonders how Chamisa is going to last the next five years.
The voice of the people
The events in Chamisa’s compound contrast starkly with the way President Mnangagwa handled the selection of the Cabinet which he announced late last week. The people, both within ZANU PF and outside, spoke unequivocally about the kind of Cabinet they wanted and he pleasantly surprised friend and foe at home and abroad when he announced a Cabinet which has been hailed by all except Chamisa, of course. Where Chamisa is frustrating democracy to protect his interests, President Mnangagwa broke with the ZANU PF past tradition of selecting senior party figures and heeded the people’s calls for a Cabinet which can turn the economy around.
The difference in the way the two politicians ply their trade leaves people with no illusions as to why President Mnangagwa won the 30 July poll.
