by Political Reporter
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change Tsvangirai (MDC-T) has resolved to hold its much-awaited extraordinary congress to elect a substantive leader to replace the late Morgan Tsvangirai on 19 December, this year.
The congress which will be held in Harare at Harare International Conference Centre (HICC), will only have a single agenda of electing the party leader and members of the National Standing Committee (NSC).
A contact within the MDC-T confided in this publication that initially that party had set aside 13 to 20 December as the days for the congress. However, financial constraints and the COVID-19 pandemic have seen the party settling for a one day congress.
Same contact further revealed that tempers are running high within the MDC-T with presidential contestants accusing each other of either being ZANU PF proxies or MDC-Alliance-sponsored candidates.
The contact also said that other presidential candidates are teaming up against that party’s Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora, whom they are accusing of embezzling party funds.
“Tempers are high within the party. At the recently held National Standing Committee, Mwonzora was accused by the acting president Thokozani Khupe and the acting Chairman Morgan Komichi of embezzling party funds allocated to the party under the Political Parties Finance Act. Mwonzora was accused of paying his friend and party lawyer Zororai Chatanga, a sum of ZWL $350 000 owed to him by the party without consulting other members,” said the contact.
The same contact further said that there are reports that the MDC-Alliance has infiltrated the MDC-T in a bid to cause confusion within that party.
“There are reports that some of the presidential hopefuls are being sponsored by the MDC-Alliance. It’s now an open secret that Elias Mudzuri is sympathetic to the MDC-Alliance and his presidential campaign is being bankrolled by that party,” added the contact.
The contact went on to say that NEC members, Godfrey Rice and Kudzanai Mashumba, who are believed to be sympathetic to Thokozani Khupe wanted Mwonzora to be arrested for the alleged embezzlement of party funds.
However, Mwonzora confided in this publication that haters were peddling lies about him to have him arrested, so that he will not be eligible to contest for the presidency.
In an interview with this publication, Mwonzora confirmed that the congress will be a one day event with a single agenda of electing the party’s leadership.
“Our congress is on 19 December 2020.The only agenda will be to elect the new leadership of the party. There will be no speeches on the day except speeches by those who will have won the elections. We have prepared well and we don’t expect to face any challenges on the day,” said Mwonzora.
Mwonzora said he was optimistic that he would be the happiest person on the 19th of December.
The holding of the congress which is expected to gobble approximately US$60 000, is in line with the Supreme Court judgment of March, this year that the MDC-T should hold an extraordinary congress to elect a leader who will take over the reins from Tsvangirai who succumbed to cancer of the colon in 2018.
