Welldone Tembo
If there is anything the recent MDC Alliance National elective congress has given birth to, it is a divided presidium punctuated by new battle-lines between that party’s leader, Nelson Chamisa, one of his powerful deputies, Tendai Biti.
The differences between Chamisa and Biti in as much as they date back to the late MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai’s era, have become more pronounced since Biti bounced back into the party, and of late, in the aftermath of the disputed congress. Prior to the congress, Chamisa had kept Biti at bay and only appointed to the ignominious National Deputy Chairmanship post.
Chamisa’s efforts to keep Biti at bay made it difficult for him to tow the democratic path as he went out of the way just to shut the door on his deputy. Chamisa’s shenanigans at the Gweru conference confirmed his irreconcilable differences with the prodigal Biti. Chamisa’s confidant and MDC Organising Secretary, Amos Chibaya, acting on his boss’ command bussed at least 100 delegates to the event with the intention of backing Chamisa’s preferred candidates. Politics being a dirty game as it is, anyone could easily forgive Chamisa for that one, but for him to then go ahead and stuff ballot boxes is just but undemocratic.
He went on to deploy emissaries at that function to spread the word that Biti could not be voted into the presidium, saying “vakomana munhu haashandike naye uyu”. According to well-placed sources that witnessed the drama at that conference, Chamisa further described Biti as ‘untrustworthy’.
In a bid to manage Biti’s influence at the congress, Chamisa is also said to have delayed addressing delegates at the event in an attempt to delay the voting process, allowing for more time to re-strategise on how best to pin Biti down. All the efforts, however, proved futile as Biti’s Obey Sithole went on to beat Chamisa’s Lovemore Chinoputsa, for the post of Youth Wing Chairmanship.
Chinoputsa’s loss made Chamisa to press the panic button as he feared that his deputy’s influence could cascade to other Wings, worse still, the Main Wing. Stuck in that panic mode, Chamisa became less careful in his dirty tricks, leading to Biti getting wind of his ally’s plot to shut him out.
Biti is said to have then confronted Chamisa demanding to know why he hated him so much despite a lot of personal favours he had done for him. According to the source who, is also a member of the MDC National Council, Biti let the cat out of the bag, divulging that he had bought Chamisa the Toyota Land Cruiser he is currently driving. Biti revealed that he had also upgraded Chamisa’s home security by providing state-of-the-art closed circuit television cameras (CCTV). This was to be the climax of the congress only witnessed by those in that party’s echelons of power according to the National Council member. The question thus remains, will these guys find their way from the collision course given the well-defined dislike for each?
On the other hand, Chamisa cannot be blamed for his dislike for Biti. When Biti left the MDC-T he took with him a lot of assets, leaving his comrades in the cold. The party was to face a lot of challenges because of his greed, deception and arrogance. One lawsuit after the other followed as the party failed to honour most of its commitments, from paying rentals and wages to its workers. The MDC was never to be the same again; donors had to shun the crookedness that decorated the fallout.
In the run up to the congress, Biti reportedly got US$50 000 from the US Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) to oil his campaign at the congress. This comes against the background that the diplomatic community and most western countries favour Biti ahead of Chamisa. It thus becomes apparent that indeed Biti harbours prospects of toppling his boss.
Judging by the west’s donation to Biti, it becomes obvious that the west has lost faith in Chamisa. Biti, who was nicknamed ‘US Dollar’ during the congressional processes was allegedly heard ridiculing Chamisa, saying he was ‘too young’ and ‘immature’ to lead the MDC ahead of him. This was to be punctuated by Biti’s distribution of US dollars at the congress which reinforced and strengthened his campaign ahead to outsmart the fearful Chamisa.
Trust issues thus took centre stage at the MDC congress leaving one to wonder as to where this movement is heading with such a divided leadership. In his fight against ZANU PF and for the country’s presidency, Chamisa will always look over his shoulders checking on Biti and plotting on keeping him at bay.
On the other hand, Biti’s main objective would be to topple Chamisa and then pay attention to the national picture after. Biti’s ambitions are not a secret after his description of the late Tsvangirai whom he said was a political midget with constipating brains. For him and his western handlers, his reigns at the MDC matter the most before they can decide to take ZANU PF by the horns.
On such a divided front and internal animosity, it is before many more generations that the MDC can ever be a meaningful opposition that can pay attention to anything else that is outside power grabbing and internal strife. The burden thus becomes too heavy for the MDC supporters who shall again wander in the political desert being created by the opposition leaders as they move to quench their personal egos ahead of pertinent issues. It is thus safe for one to prepare themselves for another disillusionment from the MDC. It only becomes cosmetic to then say the MDC emerged stronger after its congress given the events that characterised the event. Zimbabweans should just brace for political royal rumble between Chamisa and Biti and spare themselves the heartaches that come with expecting too much from the MDC.
