By Charles Motsi
After months of confusion, hackling and basically not seeing any direction, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has finally announced dates for their much awaited Elective Congress; the deed will be undertaken from 24 to 26 May 2019. When it is all said and done the party will have a substantive, elected and legitimate leader to carry the party to the 2023 national election.
There was a lot of confusion on when the congress was to be held with some saying it should have been held soon after the death of the opposition outfit’s founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. However, so many unconvincing excuses were given as to why that was not the right time to hold the congress. Some blame the current leader, Nelson Chamisa, of having been too power hungry and unsettled to allow the party to go to congress when he was not sure that he would emerge victorious.
Chamisa mainly feared the threat coming from the MDC ‘old guard’ which comprises of heavy heaters like MDC VP, Elias Mudzuri and Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora. Mwonzora in particular is a viable threat as he defeated the youthful president when they went head to head for the SG’s post in 2014. So Chamisa could not risk an early congress and now it seems he has finally given in to pressure by moving the congress from the earlier announced date in October 2019 to May.
Now a new problem has arisen for Wamba, that is on how to silence the loud voices of the past that constantly gives him nightmares of losing the presidency. While there is nothing wrong with members of the party being fully behind Chamisa it is undemocratic and goes against the principals the party was founded on to deny others a chance to contest any post in the party. This is what many Chamisa cheerleaders are trying to do using the slogan Chamisa Chete Chete.
The likes of MDC national organising secretary, Amos Chibaya, and deputy treasurer, Chalton Hwende, have been on a crusade to try and convince people that going against Chamisa in the presidential race would be selling out the ideals of the party, ignoring that a democratic party of those ideals gives anyone and everyone equal chance to run for office. Chibaya and Hwende seem to enjoy poking holes in the candidature of Mwonzora for the presidency as they have even started to label the SG as a Zanu PF stooge sent to cause confusion in the party.
Mwonzora has not even made his aspirations known but he is already being attacked for just appearing as the best and most threatening rival to Chamisa. When faced with the accusations of being a Zanu PF plant, Mwonzora expressed shock on why he was being labelled as a traitor simply because the party was going for congress which was a clear sign that those in Chamisa’s corner feared a repeat of the SG contest between the two in 2014.
A quick pick at various social media platforms, Twitter; Facebook etc, reveals that Chamisa chanters are not very tolerant to opposing voices. Anyone who is not 100 percent behind Chamisa is labelled a Zanu PF murakashi or a state security agent sent to destabilise the fragile opposition party. Surely, this cannot be the true spirit of democracy, which just confirms what has been said of Chamisa’s new MDC, that it is only democratic in name but in practice it is just a Chamisa chiefdom with its supporters reduced to cult-like zombies who cannot see beyond Chamisa.
In the spirit of democracy which was brought to this great nation through a hard fought liberation struggle and currently being upheld by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, this writer would like to wish the MDC all the best in their upcoming congress. However, they have to drop the Chete chete chants and desist from trying to stifle opposing voices and give equal opportunities to all. A Chamisa MDC cult is not what the country needs rather a vibrant opposition that positively contributes to the development of Zimbabwe.
