Elijah Chihota
The MDC is a party that has been dogged by controversy since its formation. First was the split led by the then Secretary General, Professor Welshman Ncube over the issue of participating in the 2005 Senate elections or not. When the party was drubbed by ZANU PF during the 2013 harmonised elections internal cracks started to emerge with Acting Treasure General, Elton Steers Mangoma calling for leadership renewal which did not go down well with the late MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Of all the developments in the MDC, there has emerged a young turk who is so power hungry in the name of Nelson Chamisa who is now leading the political outfit. The young man suffers from a huge ego to the detriment of the party.
When the MDC National Standing Committee proposed the creation of two more Vice Presidents in the party, the issue was referred to the National Council for consideration. The National Council then advised Tsvangirai to hold wide consultations with party members and report back to the council. Tsvangirai in July 2016 went ahead and appointed Elias Mudzuri and Chamisa as VPs in addition to Dr Thokozani Khupe. Surprisingly, the announcement was not made at Harvest House, but at Tsvangirai’s Highlands residence.
Thus the creation of the other two VPs was never provided for in the MDC constitution.
Elevation of Chamisa by National Council
Following the death of Tsvangirai, Chamisa railroaded the MDC members and the National Council to endorse him as the party leader and Presidential candidate. If he was the rightful person to occupy that office he should have waited for an extra-ordinary congress to be convened and due processes to take place. Dr Khupe as the constitutionally elected VP in 2014 was supposed to take over not Chamisa.
Pot calling kettle black
Since losing the Presidential election to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 election, Chamisa has been questioning the President’s legitimacy despite all the endorsement by various election monitors among them SADC and the African Union (AU). Now that the shoe is on the other foot if it pinches that’s tough lucky for Chamisa. In the same vein he calls others illegitimate, the High Court ruled that he was the MDC illegitimate leader as well.
Lawyer versus lawyers
In dealing with the MDC leadership issues, the MDC Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora tried to offer his legal advice to Chamisa on the issue. Chamisa in his lack of tack did not heed Mwonzora and Advocate Eric Matinenga on how to replace Tsvangirai. If Chamisa cannot listen to fellow lawyers, it shows that he is as stubborn as a mule which in the long run is going to be his undoing.
Defiance of the courts
High Court Judge, Justice Edith Mushore last Wednesday ruled that the MDC was supposed to revert to the 2014 structures and that the appointment of Mudzuri and Chamisa were illegitimate as well as the MDC presidency held by Chamisa. An extra-ordinary congress was supposed to be held within a month. As expected, Chamisa defied the court ruling and went ahead in holding meeting in preparation for their congress which had been slated for 24 to 26 May 2019 in Gweru.
Not clean
During and after 2018 election campaigns, Chamisa claimed that his hands were clean, but alas they are dripping with blood. First he urged his supporters to take to the streets on 1 August 2018 and the blood of the dead people should be upon his head because he directed them to protest on his behalf. On Monday, MDC Glen View South legislator, Vimbai Tsvangirai- Java was involved in a road accident. The accident claims the lives of Tafadzwa Mhundwa and Paul Rukanda. If Chamisa had complied with the High Court ruling this unfortunate incident could have been avoided.
Power corrodes
When Chamisa has set his sight on acquiring power, nothing short of death will stop him. As it stands he does not want to listen to anyone as he has already set his eyes on the 2023 Presidential elections. From the day that he ascended to that office his feet grew too big for his shoes and became arrogant making decisions on his party despite the long term bearing on the party and its future.
When they went for elections in 2018, Chamisa saw to it that his preferred candidates sailed through. This resulted in long time MDC members falling on the wayside. The likes of Jessie Majome and Ambassador designate James Maridadi were sidelined in Harare West and Mabvuku/Tafara Constituencies, respectively.
Transform Zimbabwe leader, Jacob Ngarivhume has finally thrown in the towel and left the MDC after being sidelined in the congress equation.
Lies
Chamisa is a psychological liar, each time he holds a microphone he would be churning out lies. Top on his list of lies was when he told a rally in Manicaland Province in 2018 that United States President Donald Trump has promised them US$15 billion to use in turning around the country’s economy. As if that was not enough, he went on to promise state of the art infrastructure such as bullet trains and rural airports.
Stubbornness
If Chamisa has this arrogance and stubbornness of wily-nilly disregarding court at party level what would he do if he was to be elected State President? This kind of stubbornness is what irks people most.
Servant leadership
As the economy is taking its toll on the country and affecting the generality of citizens, Chamisa is taking pride in telling people that he is the one who holds the economic keys. One wonders what pleasure he derives from the suffering of people whom he wants to vote for him come 2023.
Dialogue
When President Mnangagwa called for dialogue to resolve national issues, Chamisa snubbed it. Chamisa instead is still pressing on for a discussion on the outcome of the 2018 elections. He is forgetting that elections are over and it’s time for national building and growing the economy for the benefit of all citizens. Even renowned constitutional lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku has reminded Chamisa that the issue of legitimacy is now water under the bridge.
In conclusion, it can be seen that Chamisa has been declared the illegitimate MDC leader. His illegitimacy coupled with the lies that he speaks, lack of servant leadership and snubbing of dialogue makes him not fit to occupy the highest office in the land.
