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MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday unveiled what is believed to be a succession plan, appointing Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri as vice presidents, joining Thokozani Khupe in the same office, although some speculate this could be symptomatic of factionalism in the party.
Speaking to journalists at his Highlands home in Harare yesterday, Tsvangirai said the appointments follow resolutions of the party’s second highest decision making body after congress, the national council, a meeting Khupe did not attend in as yet unclear circumstances.
He said the move was not meant to undermine Khupe, but to strengthen the party ahead of the 2018 elections. “There is no move to undermine the VP, who was elected at congress. The appointments are being done to ensure that the party is stronger, as we get closer to 2018,” Tsvangirai said.
“I have revealed my health condition and there needs to be a clear plan on how the party is moving.”
He said if the MDC-T gets into power it will respect the Constitution, which provides for two vice-presidents and will not seek to change it to suit the party’s structure.
Tsvangirai, flanked by his wife Elizabeth Macheka and spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, declared he was on the path to recovery and was responding well to colon cancer treatment, although he still has to undergo more procedures.
Speaking on the sidelines, MDC-T youth league leader Happymore Chidziva said the appointments will allow Tsvangirai an opportunity to recover and access medication without affecting the party’s programmes.
“It reduces the burden on the president and even, as we begin our campaigns, Tsvangirai will not have to cross the length and breadth of the country alone, but will be ably assisted by his deputies and, thereby, reducing the strain on him as he recovers,” he said.
Chidziva said the appointments will go a long way in uniting the party after a heavily-contested congress that left Chamisa’s political life hanging by a thread.
A constitutional lawyer said Tsvangirai had acted in line with the resolutions of the 2014 MDC-T congress, which gave him power to appoint members of his national executive.
“He is well within his rights in line with the congress resolutions,” he said. Another top lawyer said the MDC-T did not need three VPs, but had made the appointments as Tsvangirai was now grooming a successor.
“The moment he steps down, one VP is going to fill in his shoes and the party will remain with two VPs, which is in line with the Zimbabwe Constitution. The idea is to have the party led by Chamisa, who appeals to younger voters,” he said.
But a senior MDC-T official who spoke on condition of anonymity warned the MDC-T had effectively split again.
“I can tell you the party has split, they (Tsvangirai and his group) can do whatever they want, but I can assure you keep watching the next few days will be telling. Something seismic will happen within the MDC. I cannot be part of such nonsense,” the insider said.
NewsDay also understands party secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and spokesperson Obert Gutu among other senior leaders were viciously opposed to Chamisa and Mudzuri’s appointment.
“Mwonzora is in Hungary, while Gutu is in Victoria Falls. They both did not attend the meetings. I can assure you Khupe, Gutu and Mwonzora will leave the party,” the source said on condition they are not identified.
It has however, emerged that Tsvangirai was given imperial powers to tinker with the opposition party’s national executive as he wishes.
If MDC-T splits, this would be the third since the opposition party was formed at the turn of the century.
Source-Newsday
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