By Gift Mashoko
According to the famous American author John C. Maxwell, "Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another." However MDC leader Nelson Chamisa is all about his leadership title and position as he is doing anything he can to make sure he retains this post.
Chamisa has been ring-fencing the leadership post to the exclusion of anyone else and those who were interested in the position such as the Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora are backing off from the contest as a result of intimidation and violence.
Apparently Chamisa is going to clinch the presidency ahead of the party’s elective congress after Mwonzora, his likely challenger Mwonzora, gave up during the Manicaland provincial congress yesterday.
Mwonzora has thrown in the towel leaving Chamisa uncontested and is settling to fighting for the Secretary General post which Charlton Hwende who has already received two nominations is also competing for. Mwonzora who has shown mature politics, thus far, after realising that his need to contest Chamisa is causing the bloody internal fights which would have led to another split, hence his withdrawal.
Violence within the MDC has been mounting as the party`s elective congress nears. The party`s National Organising Secretary, Amos Chibaya, a well-known Chamisa lapdog has also been heavily criticised by some party members for his dictatorial utterances that the party does not expect Chamisa to be challenged at the congress.
Chibaya warned party members wishing to challenge Chamisa that they risked plunging themselves into what he termed political dustbin. This is not expected from a person in a leadership position and shows that there is no democracy in the so called Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Mwonzora’s sympathisizers have been receiving threats and insults from Chamisa’s camp, which is most probably why he received no nomination in any province. Mwonzora has been labelled a ZANU PF Trojan horse for his need to compete with Chamisa. This is another power grab reminiscent of the way Chamisa violently outwitted everyone when Morgan Tsvangirai died so as to be the party president.
What Chamisa is doing brings out his domineering and dictatorial nature. Showing how the famous Author Klaus Balkenhol was right when he said, "There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust."
