Chenai Mutasa

Since the formation of the MDC in 1999, that party has been riddled with power struggles. First it was the late MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai who was elected at the inaugural party congress in 2000. Tsvangirai repeatedly lost elections in 2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013, but was not prepared to relinquish that post to anyone, arguing that the party could not change the battalion leader mid-battle.

In January 2014, the then Deputy Treasurer General, Elton Steers Mangoma called for leadership renewal in the wake of the 2013 electoral drubbing at the hands of ZANU PF. Mangoma rightly pointed out that Tsvangirai had dismally failed to dislodge ZANU PF from power  and, therefore, he should hand over power to someone else. In a fit of rage, Mangoma was bashed by party youths at Harvest House in full view of Tsvangirai with the latter not even lifting so much as a finger to restrain his hounds.

As that party approached the congress, Tsvangirai declared that his post was not up for grabs. He stated that you cannot change a leader in combat times. In an arrogant manner, Tsvangirai informed them that he would only relinquish power once he had become the Head of State. He further insinuated that Robert Mugabe started off as a Prime Minister and became the executive President, therefore, since between 2009 and 2013 he was the Prime Minister what was only left for him was to become the state President.

When the then Secretary General, Tendai Biti took sides with Mangoma, Nelson Chamisa, who was still the National Organising Secretary seized the opportunity to bury Biti politically. As a result Biti was later booted out of the party along with twenty others.

Chamisa’s scheming was sharpened when Tsvangirai passed on and he grabbed power in a mafia style thus outfoxing the other two party deputy leaders Dr Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri. This positioned him to be the party’s 2018 presidential elections candidate. The lengths to which Chamisa went to consolidate his power base leaves a lot to be desired. He went as far as unleashing the party’s youth militia, the Vanguard which threatened to burn Dr Khupe and Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora alive in a grass thatched rondavel at Tsvangirai’s funeral at his Buhera rural home.

Fast forward to the much awaited congress, Chamisa has already unleashed his National Organising Secretary, Amos Chibaya to instil fear into the spines of those who intend to challenge him for the presidency.

“Chamisa is the man of the moment from the grassroots going up and anyone wishing to challenge him will just be throwing themselves in the political dustbin,” Chibaya has warned.

During that party’s rally in Mkoba, Gweru over the weekend, Chamisa subtly declared that there were no sacred posts at the forthcoming congress. This move was strategically coined so that those who choose to openly campaign would be made sacrificial lambs. He would identify, haunt and hound such people out of the party. In this regard Mudzuri and Mwonzora have been targeted for expulsion since last year and as the crucial elective congress draws near, this is likely to happen soon to pave way for an uncontested passage to party presidency for Chamisa.

Relatedly, the rumour mill is awash with information to the effect that Mudzuri did not attend the Mkoba rally, but chose to while time at his beer outlet in Harare. This alone shows the level of power struggles in that party as the two leaders could not brook to be at the same venue at the same time.

In order to improve his media strategy, Chamisa seems to have roped in journalist and film maker, Hopewell Chin’ono, who of late has been writing positively about him with one such article being entitled “A vote for anyone other than Chamisa at the MDC congress is a vote for political oblivion” which was published by the online media house, Nehanda Radio. The article is a clear warning to people such as Mudzuri and Mwonzora who wish to contest Chamisa at congress.

Chamisa has also ring fenced his presidency to such an extent that restructuring of lower party organs ahead of the congress is yet to be carried out. Going by the party constitution, lower party organs should be restructured first which is then followed by the endorsement of the party president. The situation on the ground is that provinces have been railroaded to endorse Chamisa as the party leader at congress, yet the structures are not bona fide.

The MDC Alliance is a political party in turmoil, beside the power wrangles its always dithering on the verge of splitting. Another headache for whoever wins at congress is uniting the divided party currently riddled with the curse of double fielding of candidates. During the 2018 harmonised elections, the MDC fielded double candidates in Bulawayo South, Harare South, Goromonzi West, Harare South, Bikita East and Musikavanhu Constituencies, among others. The forthcoming Bulawayo Ward 28 by-elections have seen the MDC double fielding council candidates namely Collet Ndlovu and Nomagugu Sibanda.

Even if Chamisa by hook and crook wins the party presidency at the congress, he would inherit a severely fractured party as other seemingly contended senior party members such as Deputy National Chairperson, Tendai Biti is also eyeing the presidency and seems to have the patience of a crocodile to pounce at the most opportune time. The near foreseeable loss of Mudzuri and Mwonzora would also perpetuate the divisions in the party.