The Herald

A RALLY called by MDC president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai at Somhlolo Stadium in Lupane yesterday failed to take off after the opposition leader and his entourage were chased away by party youths opposed to his decision to boycott Senate elections.

Highly placed sources in the MDC said a group of youths had “camped” at the stadium and were determined to stop Mr Tsvangirai from addressing party supporters.

They also said no one had turned up for the rally.

“I have been in touch with people on the ground in Lupane. Tsvangirai was sent scurrying when a group of youths came rushing to his car, threatening to beat him up. He was parked by the garage near the main Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway to gauge the mood of the people of Lupane, but before he could do anything, youths came running from the stadium and wanted to beat him up.

“When he (Mr Tsvangirai) saw them coming, he quickly jumped into his car and they sped away towards Bulawayo.

“Some of the youths caught lifts and followed the entourage up to St Luke’s to make sure that they didn’t come back to Lupane.

“The message to him was loud and clear: He is not welcome here in Matabeleland with his anti-Senate views,” said a high-ranking member of the MDC.

Mr Tsvangirai is on a tour of Matabeleland North to address party supporters and campaign for a boycott of the Senate polls scheduled for November 26.

However, Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Mr William Bango, said his boss did not flee Lupane.

“There was no plan to address a rally in Lupane. The only rally was at Dete. After addressing that rally he (Mr Tsvangirai) left.

“One cannot just address a rally because according to POSA (Public Order and Security Act), you apply four to five days in advance. The organising office liaises with the district, in MDC the district is the constituency. If the district does not give a go-ahead, we do not go there,” he added.

However, a statement released by Mrs Sekai Holland – a senior member of the MDC and believed to be in Mr Tsvangirai’s faction – said four youths had been deployed from the party’s Bulawayo province to disrupt the MDC leader’s rallies in Matabeleland North.

Mrs Holland, who is a member of the MDC national executive committee, said the youths had told party supporters that Mr Tsvangirai’s rallies in Victoria Falls, Hwange and other venues in the province had been cancelled.

“The situation which developed while they (Tsvangirai’s entourage) were traveling from Harare was that four youths were deployed from Bulawayo province by the MDC pro-Senate group to go door-to-door telling MDC members in the areas where the rallies were organised, that (party) president Tsvangirai’s meetings were cancelled as he was unable to attend.

“The claim from the MDC Matabeleland North leadership is that the local MDC Member of Parliament’s home was used as the operational base for these youths to inform his constituency wrong data during the door-to-door rounds on Saturday evening.

“He had advised others that he could not attend the rally as he was attending the rally in Gwanda to be addressed by the (MDC) vice president (Mr Gibson Sibanda). There was apparently no rally held in Gwanda on that day.

“When the (party) president arrived he was faced with this crisis. The majority of the Matabeleland North MDC committee structures attended an emergency meeting with their national council representative, provincial chairperson and the youth assembly and women’s assembly provincial committees to brief the president and his delegation on events that had taken place while they were traveling to the rally. Around 4am corrective measures resulting from this consultation were taken. People began to travel to the venue earlier than other times as soon as they heard that the MDC president had arrived in Victoria Falls.

“The rally was, as all MDC rallies, exciting and this time a bonding of the party since this traumatic crisis broke out into the public domain. Bulawayo province members traveled to Matabeleland North to stand in solidarity with the Matabeleland North membership. The rally speeches were on the same theme: the reminder of the party message, its values and principles and these were reflected in the songs that the crowd sang. There was also the demand that the leadership unite, to unite the party to the party congress,” she said.

Mrs Holland said the four youths also disrupted the Hwange rally.

“The Hwange section of the journey was problematic. The four youths from Bulawayo province had also gone onto Hwange district and told people that the (party) president’s rally was cancelled. The permit was denied which meant that the rally was held at Mpumalanga, 15km from the publicised venue. Two buses were required to ferry those attending the rally to the new venue, but many walked to the rally. The rally was, in spite of these handicaps, also well attended with morale high.

“The (MDC) president’s party today continues his rally tour of Matabeleland North.

“The numbers who attended are estimated to be 4 000 to 5 000 at each rally,” she said.

However, sources in Matabaleland North said the Hwange rally was attended by between 130 and 150 people only, while a head count at the Victoria Falls rally showed that only 52 people had turned up.

Mr Tsvangirai is on a nationwide tour aimed at swaying party supporters to back his call for a boycott of the Senate elections.

The MDC has split into factions – one led by Mr Tsvangirai and other headed by secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube, which favours participation in the poll. Meanwhile, the opposition party maybe headed for a final split amid reports that the faction led by Prof Ncube is considering approaching the courts to rein in the militant faction led by beleaguered party leader Mr Tsvangirai.

Highly placed sources at Harvest House, the party’s headquarters, told The Herald that Mr Tsvangirai’s flagrant violation of the party constitution and his attempt to have the decision of the national council vetoed by last Saturday’s meeting has convinced the Ncube-led faction to seek legal recourse to end the crisis.

The Herald understands that the pro-participation camp feels that it will prevail over Mr Tsvangirai’s as it has the backing of the party constitution and legally binding party organs.

MDC secretary for legal affairs Mr David Coltart said he was not aware of the issue while Mr Bango said he would only be in a position to comment after seeing the court papers. — Byo Bureau/HR.

The Herald
By David Samuriwo

DESPITE Monday’s last ditch efforts to patch major differences concerning Senate elections to be held in three weeks’ time, the leadership of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has finally decided to go separate ways effectively splitting the five-year-old political party.

A faction led by party leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai remains adamant that the MDC would not be taking part in the Senate polls while the other camp led by secretary-general Professor Welshman Ncube refuses to shift its position accusing Mr Tsvangirai of usurping the MDC constitution by defying a national council resolution compelling the MDC to take part in the polls.

The top leadership, commonly referred to as the management committee comprising Mr Tsvangirai, vice president Gibson Sibanda, Ncube, chairman Isaac Matongo, deputy secretary-general Gift Chimanikire and treasurer Fletcher Dulini Ncube sealed the fate of the party on Monday when they failed to find common ground on the way forward.

It should be quickly pointed here that the Senate election fallout is not the only factor that has led to the split of the party. Having lost three consecutive elections to Zanu-PF disgruntled elements within the MDC had begun asking questions on the capability of its leader.

Recently, a purported draft national constitution emanating from the office of the MDC’s legal affairs secretary, David Coltart, smuggled unprocedurally to Parliament had a paragraph inserted that barred any future president of the Republic of Zimbabwe to hold office without an academic degree.

Insiders within the MDC say apart from other veiled attacks during the MDC’s restructuring exercise, this became the first open attack on Mr Tsvangirai’s leadership as the man from Buhera holds no known academic degree from any university within or outside Zimbabwe.

Spokesperson for Mr Tsvangirai’s faction, William Bango issued a statement immediately after Monday’s meeting announcing that the MDC national council would meet tomorrow to, among other things review the state of the party ahead of the congress to be held sometime early next year. He said Mr Tsvangirai remained unchanged on his position that the MDC should boycott the November 26 Senate polls.

Straight and to the point, MDC deputy secretary-general, Gift Chimakire, speaking on behalf of the MDC faction led by Professor Ncube dismissed the proposed Saturday meeting announced by Bango as a non-event that would serve no useful purpose. “It is up to individuals to attend the meeting on Saturday but personally I don’t see any reason for such a meeting when other people are flouting the founding principles of the party”.

It is also unfortunate that a major ethnic dimension has characterised the MDC split. Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC draws its support mainly from constituencies in Harare. Apart from executive members in the Mashonaland provinces, it has no grassroots support to talk about in these Zanu-PF dominated constituencies. On the other hand, the other MDC, now effectively being led by Welshman Ncube, is consistently dominant in Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South provinces.

In dismissing a meeting of the national council scheduled for tomorrow, the Ncube-aligned MDC has obviously read between the lines. When this faction undertook the surprising and useless journey to South Africa ostensibly to seek guidance from President Thabo Mbeki, Mr Tsvangirai saw an opportunity and embarked on a tour in Harare, Mashonaland, Masvingo and Manicaland provinces to assert his authority with the hope of overturning the National Council resolution tomorrow.

In the event of the Ncube-led faction deciding to attend the meeting, a remotely possible scenario, and the issue of participation will definitely be put to vote again. With the threats and harassment that has been meted out to the Ncube faction, the tables will be turned in favour of Mr Tsvangirai.

No wonder Chimanikire insists nobody has the right to overturn through manipulation the decision of the national Council to further personal views. Most members of the national Council will definitely boycott tomorrow’s meeting.

Chimanikire described unelected officials now calling the shots as Mr Tsvangirai’s “kitchen cabinet.” “Mr Tsvangirai and his cabinet of unelected, self-seeking individuals usurped the powers of the National Council and sought to replace officials elected by the party congress,” Which exactly are these officials accused of now calling the shots? Spokesperson William Bango no longer hides his ambitions. Ghandi Mudzingwa, former MDC Director for Security is a close ally, personal assistant and confidant of Tsvangirai while Ian Makone, holding the powerful post of Finance Director is indispensable. Chimanikire is right. The above-mentioned people are mere party employees but recent developments have seen them assuming enormous power and clout to the detriment of elected office bearers necessitating the split that has now occurred.

In an unprecedented move, Bango, last week announced that Mr Tsvangirai had already started what he termed a process of taking “political action” against members of his party who defied his call and filed nomination papers to contest the elections. Is it not ironic that the proposed “political action” whatever that means, would be taken against aspiring candidates and not against elected officials organising the elections such as Ncube, Sibanda, Chimanikire and Dulini Ncube?

Furthermore, according to the MDC constitution, all disciplinary matters are supposed to be channelled and heard in the office of the vice president, Gibson Sibanda. By personally initiating a process of “political action” against dissenting voices, a process that has resulted in the unilateral suspension of Member of Parliament for St Mary’s Job Sikhala, Mr Tsvangirai has yet again pumped bullets in his own decomposed body.

The MDC faction led by Mr Tsvangirai has already set the agenda for the proposed meeting. According to its spokesperson, William Bango, who no doubt is enjoying his new portfolio after quietly putting on Paul Themba Nyathi’s shoes, Mr Tsvangirai would be presenting to the council an overview of a campaign strategy for a new constitution which this faction has adopted in concert with civic society partners, notably the Lovemore Madhuku-led National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).

Saturday’s meeting would also deliberate on strategies to force the Government of President Robert Mugabe out of power through street protests, demonstrations and boycotts of whatever kind with the sole aim of attracting international spotlight on Zimbabwe.

The agenda for the meeting is a slap in the face of Welshman Ncube and his faction. There is no need to waste time seeking mediators.

The truth is that the MDC has effectively split into two distinct factions purely on ethnic grounds.

The Herald
From Bulawayo Bureau

A MEETING of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change national council -the party’s supreme decision making body – called for tomorrow in Harare by MDC president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has been thrown into doubt after members of a faction led by Professor Welshman Ncube said they were not aware of the meeting.

Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Mr William Bango said in a statement after a meeting of the two feuding factions of the MDC on Monday that the MDC leader had called for a national council meeting tomorrow to “present a report on the state of the party, preparations for the congress and the campaign for a new constitution”.

Mr Tsvangirai is also expected to press ahead his call for a boycott of the senate elections.

In an interview yesterday, MDC spokesman, Mr Paul Themba Nyathi said the secretariat of the party which was charged with organising national council meetings – had not communicated with various structures of the party regarding the meeting as was the norm.

“We are waiting for the correct channels of calling for a national council meeting to be followed. So far I have not heard from the SG (secretary general)’s office. As things stand I don’t know what is going to happen and I wouldn’t want to speculate but what I know is that the secretary general is responsible for organising such meetings and he has not been in touch with us,” he said.

MDC secretary general, Prof Ncube could not be reached for comment but his deputy, Mr Gift Chimanikire told Chronicle on Wednesday that he was not aware of the meeting and had only read about it in the Press.

“I don’t know much about that (meeting) except what I read in the Press,” he said by telephone from Harare.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Mr Bango were fruitless yesterday but sources said the MDC leader would use the meeting to call for an extraordinary congress to elect new party leaders and in the process pave way for the purging of his opponents.

Insiders also said that Mr Tsvangirai, wanted the congress held before Christmas.

“There are several issues to be discussed at Saturday’s meeting but indications are that Tsvangirai will press for an extraordinary congress to resolve differences rocking the party,” said a senior official of the opposition party, who did not want to be named.

The meeting is also expected to review the state of the party and its internal cohesion and discuss the fate of candidates who registered to stand in the senate poll.

Mr Tsvangirai is expected to recommend to the council that outspoken legislator Mr Job Sikhala be expelled for claiming that MDC illegally received foreign funding.

Meanwhile, Mr Nyathi said MDC candidates for the 26 November senate elections were pressing ahead with preparations for the poll and had hit the campaign trail.

He said the candidates were the only opposition to the ruling ZANU (PF) contestants “visible” on the campaign trail.

“We have held meetings right across the country and we are the only group out there taking on ZANU (PF). We are doing everything necessary to make sure that our campaigns are sustainable,” said Mr Nyathi.

In a related development, the MDC Member of Parliament for Harare North and party secretary for Policy and Research, Mrs Trudy Stevenson, has blasted Mr Tsvangirai for leading calls to boycott the senate elections.

In a statement, Mrs Stevenson said many members of both the party (MDC) and the general public had indicated that they had heard no arguments for participation in the Senate election, or had only heard the argument “Keep them out”.

She said the MDC legal committee presented a paper to the party’s national executive committee on Friday 16 September outlining the pros and cons of participating and this led to the resolution to consult the party structures.

“It is most unfortunate that the “consultation” was never properly carried out, in that the so-called consultative meetings were actually an overt effort at indoctrination of the “No to Senate” view, and that the other side of the story never saw the light of day since the beginning of this debate.

“All structures should have been informed of all the arguments both for and against participation before making their decision. In view of the fact that few, if any at all, were made so aware, readers should consider the implications of this state of affairs in considering the arguments for and against, and the bigger picture of the divide within our party MDC,” said Mrs Stevenson.

She said the legal committee listed arguments against participation as:

. Participation would be hypocritical. Participation would legitimise the Senate and the process of amending the Constitution. Participation would not remove Mugabe. Participation would be expensive and drain the party of resources. Participation would draw the party’s attention away from holding Congress

It also went to outline arguments for participation as:

. Participation would maintain the MDC’s strongholds. Non-participation would deny the people the right to keep out Zanu (PF). Winning more than one-third of the seats in Senate would prevent Zanu (PF) from unilaterally amending the Constitution. Non-participation may create in the minds of the electorate the notion that the MDC has capitulated. Participation would exacerbate the divisions within Zanu-PF. Participation would keep MDC structures focused on fighting Zanu (PF). Participation could enable the MDC to place key people in Parliament.

SouthScan (London)

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change seems to be heading for a split after a dispute between its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, and the party’s vice president Gibson Sibanda over the upcoming November 26 senate elections.

Tsvangirai has been touring the country to mobilize support for his policy of boycotting the poll, while the majority of the party’s national council wants to engage. Indications are that he will seek to reform the party on the basis of its earlier mass support.

He appeared to be winning over party leaders in 10 out of the 12 provinces, but whatever the outcome of his tour the split has become public and is likely to damage the effectiveness of opposition to the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Tsvangirai had ordered the MDC to boycott the senate poll, but its 66-member executive narrowly voted in favor of participation. Tsvangirai stormed out of its October 12 meeting.

Earlier MDC vice president Sibanda accused him of threatening senior party officials who were in favour of participating in the elections, and of breaching the party’s constitution by overruling the decision by the MDC national council to contest the poll.

Sibanda’s statement said inquiries into “violent activities” against some national and provincial party officials established the involvement of Tsvangirai’s office and his bodyguards. The party fired two of the bodyguards, but Tsvangirai allegedly rehired them, Sibanda said.

Rebuilding support

The MDC was formed in 1999 on the back of Tsvangirai’s trade union support, mixed with the commercial farming lobby and disgruntled members of the urban middle classes who were being kept out of the Zanu-PF patronage game. It was therefore always a volatile mix, but was seriously weakened by the collapse of the white farming group after the takeover of their farms and the failure of international pressure to force a reversal on President Robert Mugabe.

Its officials have also been under constant pressure from the security apparatus of Zanu-PF and it has been unable – or was too divided – to mobilize any sizeable popular response to Mugabe’s actions, most notably against his recent mass removals in Harare and other towns.

Tsvangirai’s current campaign trail around the country is only the latest of his attempts to break through to his supporters directly, and to workers, youth, and informal and particularly female traders, who have in the past been vociferous against Mugabe. He has also begun a “solidarity walk” to work each day to publicise the lack of fuel in the country and to talk directly to supporters in Harare.

In these activities he seems to be viewed as still an active threat to the government. An alleged secret police report published by the exile ZimOnline website in South Africa has him topping a list of allegedly dangerous individuals to be monitored by the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Tsvangirai is also securing backing from civil society bodies. The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a loose alliance of political, church, women’s and student groups, and also on the police watch list, called the elections to create an upper house of parliament “meaningless” and a “waste of time and resources.”
“The NCA urges ordinary Zimbabweans to refuse to be complicit in ZANU-PF’s exploitative grand scheme for diverting national and international attention from the root cause of suffering in Zimbabwe, that is a failed government,” NCA spokeswoman Jessie Majome told a news conference.

A new 66-seat upper house, including 50 elected members, was created by a recent constitutional amendment. It will comprise 10 traditional chiefs, 50 elected senators and six appointed by Mugabe. Critics say it will strengthen the stranglehold of Zanu-PF.

The NCA said it watched with “disgust the feuding and bickering” in the MDC “a party that espouses democratic ideals”.

“Every Zimbabwean must refuse to be used and abused by aspiring politicians who wish to climb over them to reach the dictated senate… for personal wealth creation and self aggrandisement,” the NCA added.

The alleged police report published in ZimOnline says the Joint Operations Command (JOC), comprising the police, the Central Intelligence Organisation and the army, has drawn up a list of 55 political and civic leaders it says are the “most dangerous individuals” who must be kept under surveillance.

Tsvangirai tops the list that also includes Mugabe’s former chief propagandist and now independent MP, Jonathan Moyo. In the 20-page internal report to deputy police commissioner responsible for operations Godwin Matanga, a police representative on the JOC, Edmore Veterai, wrote, “We must not fool ourselves by believing that the situation is normal on the ground …”, adding that hostility was growing and “people turning to the opposition, which they see as their Messiah”.

“They will not hesitate to join any demonstrations called for by the opposition and the NCA (National Constitutional Assembly) in their so-called push for change.”

Veterai is a senior assistant police commissioner and is in charge of police in Harare province. His report, dated September 30, 2005 was also copied to Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, but Mohadi denied knowledge of it.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told ZimOnline the recent cancellation of leave and retraining of anti-riot police officers referred to in Veterai’s report was only meant to prepare police officers ahead of next month’s senate election.

The authenticity of the report, as with much else in Zimbabwe’s official domain, is difficult for journalists to verify since under the government’s Public Order and Security Act and the Official Secrets Act it is an offence to publish confidential state security information.

Besides Tsvangirai and Moyo, others on the security agencies’ list of dangerous people are Sibanda, MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube and the party MPs Job Sikhala, David Coltart, and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku is also on the list, with Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Lovemore Matombo, Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers Union secretary general Raymond Majongwe and Felix Mafa, of the Post Independence Survivors Trust.

The Zimbabwe Independent
By Phillip Pasirayi

TAKURA Zhangazha wrote an incisive piece entitled, “MDC: looking beyond leadership crisis”, (The Standard, October 21).

In his analysis of the political developments in the MDC, Zhangazha argues that the differences on whether the party must, or must not, participate in the senate elections are symptomatic of a serious departure by the leadership from the party’s founding principles and what he calls the creeping in of “political elitism” that feeds on patron-client networks.

Zhangazha argues: “Elitism has the tendency to emerge in a period where a party or an organisation becomes too comfortable with itself, and negates the principles upon which it was founded.

Morgan Tsvangirai gravely erred in allowing this sort of elitism to creep in, where a system of patronage about who participates in parliament or not becomes the order of the day. Or alternatively, where the “top six” begin to behave as though they were a Zanu PF presidium and in the process battle for control of as elite an organ as the National Council as if that is what the party was formed for.

There can be no analysis that surpasses the one the writer shares with us in trying to understand why over the years the MDC and its leadership have behaved in the manner they did. If the opposition party was still as consultative and as inclusive as it was from the onset, there was not going to be any problems such as the petty differences that its leadership shows at the moment.

Although I have argued in previous installments that differences and the essence of democratic discourse, especially in a big political party like the MDC are necessary, the way the MDC leadership is behaving is amateurish and to the best of my understanding, retrogressive.

The behaviour of the MDC so-called “Top Six” is no different from the way the Zanu PF politburo behaves. But the problem can be traced back to the MDC president who has forgotten the reason why the party was formed and has himself become too bureaucratic and elitist in his approaches and strategies.

The MDC is a civil society initiative, formed by the leadership of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the National Constitutional Assembly and the Zimbabwe National Students Union in consultation with the people of Zimbabwe.

Prior to its formation, teams were dispatched to the provinces, including areas such as Binga, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Mudzi, Nyazura, Chimanimani and Rutenga to consult with the people of Zimbabwe to speak on the Zimbabwe they want.

The template that was used in the consultation exercise had three questions: What is the current economic and political situation in Zimbabwe? What are the remedies to the situation? And how should the situation be resolved?

The process culminated in the production of a voluminous document – the “raw data”, that was used by the delegates at the All Working Peoples National Convention held under the theme “An Agenda for Action” in February 1999. It is this convention which gave birth to a political movement that we call the MDC today.

It is this history that we can use to explain why things have turned out the way they have in the main opposition party. The point that Zhangazha raises about political elitism in the MDC which is fashioned out in a manner reminiscent of Zanu PF politics is responsible for the cracks that are emerging in the opposition party.

Some of the most vocal members of the MDC who are creating confusion may need to be lectured on how the party was formed as some of them had been active in opposition politics and flirted with parties like the ruling Zanu PF, the Zimbabwe Unity Movement and the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD) where they failed to make an impact.

The late Learnmore Jongwe was sent to the University of Zimbabwe by Tsvangirai to talk to some of his lecturers in the Law School and other academics to come and join the party. Needles to say some of these former lecturers were used by the Zanu PF regime to silence and punish vocal student leaders who were opposed to the government.

The argument was that there was need to have a blend of activists and academics in the new party that was dominated by the ZCTU, Zinasu and the NCA.

Various emissaries were sent to talk to other bodies and constituent groups that had not been part of the initial processes that led to the formation of the MDC. Taking a cursory look at the MDC politics today, they resemble a completely divided movement, with the divisions taking tribal, regional and ideological lines.

We have heard talk about the existence of a faction of academics in the MDC – a faction said to be dovish in its approach to political challenges. It has been said that this group favours the courts and dialogue as opposed to street protests to resolve political disputes.

It has been claimed that Welshman Ncube, Innocent Gonese, Paul Themba Nyathi, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and David Coltart are the most notable members of this faction. On the other hand, there exists another faction led by activists that include Tsvangirai, Nelson Chamisa, Lucia Matibenga and Isaac Matongo.

Whilst factions are inevitable in a political party as big as the MDC, it is safe to claim that the ruling party has a hand in the factions emerging in the MDC. It is inadequate to talk of a group calling itself academics even though some of its members have just a two-year college diploma.

What is evident is that some MDC leaders have played squarely into the hands of Zanu PF intelligence functionaries by trying to be legalistic or academic as opposed to being revolutionary in their conduct. This is the reading that we get from the differences that ensued as a result of the impending senate election.

The MDC leader has left it too late to deal with these problems – some being of his own creation. There are reports of other people having been catapulted to top positions in the party through the help of Tsvangirai. In previous elections there have been reports of candidates being imposed by Tsvangirai and Matongo on the electorate.

After the death of Jongwe, there were efforts to bar Chamisa from standing as a candidate in Kuwadzana because the seat had been reserved for Murisi Zvizwai, himself a late-comer in the MDC politics but a close confidant of the MDC leader. Had it not been for a front page story in The Daily News that pre-empted Tsvangirai’s move, Chamisa would not be the legislator for Kuwadzana today.

Because of the persistence of patron-clientilism in the rank and file of the MDC, some current MPs have bought their way into parliament through sending birthday presents either to Tsvangirai or his wife Susan. Is not surprising that some of the people who are claiming that Tsvangirai is undemocratic are the very people who were handpicked by the same man and now hold influential positions in the party even without the approval of the party membership at the grassroots.

In all this process, some genuine founding fathers of the MDC have suffered because they either have no money to buy presents for their president or have no posh cars to drive the leader to meetings. Many people have suffered in this patronage system that the MDC leader has perpetuated.

When all the dust has settled, it is imperative that Tsvangirai reflects on the reason why the MDC was founded and why some of the founding fathers are now taking a back stage in the party. Names that immediately come to mind include one Mudhara Makuyana, known for his loyalty to the party since its inception but who was elbowed out of the race in Mbare during the March parliamentary polls because Gift Chimanikire, the deputy secretary-general who had lost in Mazowe in previous elections now wanted an easy ride.

The same happened in Mabvuku where many young and vibrant party activists were barred from contesting on behalf of the MDC because Timothy Mubhawu, who was at that time the chairman for Manicaland was in the race. The youths were warned against fighting Mubhawu because he had the blessing of Tsvangirai and both come from Buhera.

Unless the MDC reflects on its past mistakes and reverts to being a revolutionary party founded on the basis of entrenching social welfarism, then its future as an alternative party to Zanu PF is doomed.

The Herald

Herald Reporters – NINE out of the 12 MDC provinces have endorsed the forthcoming Senate elections by successfully filing nomination papers in 26 constituencies at the close of the nomination courts yesterday.

This has left the ruling Zanu-PF with 19 uncontested seats and its candidates automatically become Senators.

The remaining seats are being contested between Zanu-PF and independent candidates.

The opposition party defied its president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s calls to boycott the elections by fielding candidates in Harare, Chitungwiza, Masvingo, Mashonaland West, Midlands North and South, Matabeleland North and South and Bulawayo.

The MDC failed to nominate candidates in Mashonaland East, Central and Manicaland amid allegations of intimidation and violence against those who sought to lodge their papers with the nomination courts.

In Masvingo province two small opposition parties – Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance and the Peace for Action – fielded candidates in Masvingo and Chiredzi-Zaka constituencies.

The total number of MDC candidates came to 26 after another candidate, Mr Author Masimba Furamera, who wanted to stand in Chinhoyi, was disqualified for bringing inappropriate identity particulars. This means that the pro-participation lobby prevailed over Mr Tsvangirai by a margin of 52 percent to 48.

The nomination turnout mirrored the MDC national council’s vote of October 12 which stood at 33 to 31 votes in favour of taking part, translating to a 57 to 43 percent victory for the pro-participation camp led by secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube.

MDC spokesman Mr Paul Themba-Nyathi said the fact that nine out of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces – or nine out of the MDC’s 12 provinces – filed nomination papers means the many in the MDC are guided by democratic ideals and want to see their party adhering to its founding principles of free democratic expression.

Turning to Mr Tsvangirai’s calls for non-participation, Mr Themba-Nyathi said: “The president of the MDC holds a different view. He is very strong on that view and no one in the MDC seeks to take that view from him.

“He was, however, elected by congress to uphold and defend the constitution of the party and we have no doubt that he will discharge his duties accordingly.”

Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Mr William Bango, differed with the MDC spokesman, saying his boss’s position remained unchanged.

“Mr Tsvangirai believes that the position he raised two weeks ago still stands and anybody who filed nomination papers today did so as an independent. The traditional candidate selection procedures in the MDC were not followed with respect to those who submitted nomination papers, and these guys know it,” he added.

Legal experts said the MDC leader now faces a crisis of legitimacy after three-quarters of the provinces that elected him at congress refused to follow him, and actually exceeded the two-thirds majority vote needed to unseat him.

MDC secretary for legal affairs Mr David Coltart said the results of the nomination were self-evident.

He, however, refused to comment on what the party would do if Mr Tsvangirai attempts to victimise Senate candidates, saying he did not want to speculate on the matter.

Constitutional lawyer and chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly Dr Lovemore Madhuku said opposition candidates who filed papers had acted within their legal rights.

“On a strict interpretation of the law, MDC candidates were correct in filing nomination papers. Any analysis shows that legally the MDC voted to participate, (because) at law the decision of the national council constitutes the party’s decision.

“With a 52 percent defiance of Tsvangirai, the ball is now in his court to take a decisive decision and tell the nation who is in control in the MDC.

“Is it the faction he leads or the other one?”

Another Harare lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Tsvangirai’s decision to go against a constitutionally binding vote invites a no-confidence motion in his leadership,

“Within the structures of the MDC, one can see that there is a body that makes decisions on whether or not to participate. That decision is not the preserve of the president of the party. When that decision is taken, it should be adhered to.

“Those who filed nomination papers are the ones who are complying with the constitution. Tsvangirai’s actions only serve to invite a vote of no confidence in his leadership.”

Article 10 of the MDC constitution that deals with disciplinary matters empowers the disciplinary committee, under subsection 10.5, to frame, enquire, charge, reprimand, fine, suspend and expel members who have been found guilty of:

“(a) A wilful breach of any of the provisions of this Constitution and any regulations made in terms hereof; and/or

(b) Conduct unbecoming and prejudicial to the interests or reputation of the Party and the objects and purposes for which it stands and/or conduct which may bring the Party into disrepute.”

According to the strongly worded reprimand-cum-charge sheet issued against Mr Tsvangirai by the chairman of his party’s disciplinary committee, MDC vice president Mr Gibson Sibanda, last week, the opposition leader “wilfully violated the constitution of the MDC and breached its provisions”.

Mr Tsvangirai is also accused of violating section 4.4 that requires every member to accept and conform to the constitution; paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 6.1.1 that vests the duty to uphold and defend the constitution in the party president; and section 6.1.2 that requires him to act as a spokesman on major policy issues but bars him from acting or doing anything contrary to the party’s principles.

The Daily Telegraph
18th Oct 2005
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare

A Zimbabwe judge has confirmed that President Robert Mugabe’s henchmen bought over opposition members with food in the March general election and threatened hungry peasants with starvation if they failed to back his ruling Zanu PF party.

“It was made clear to the villagers that supporting the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) meant going without food,” said High Court Judge Rita Makarau in a written judgment on the election process in Makoni North, a rural constituency, 80 miles south-east of Harare.

The judge quoted the “sad example” of one villager attending a public meeting exchanging his MDC T-shirt for a bag of food. “The other MDC members were then invited to do likewise if they wanted the food hand-outs,” the judge said.

Judge Makarau said Zanu PF village leaders and veterans of Mr Mugabe’s forces during the war for independence had used food to manipulate local voters. Journalists and human rights monitors reported that rural Zimbabweans were refused permission to buy grain from the only legal cereals trader, the government’s Grain Marketing Board, in the run up to the March election, in which Zanu PF won 78 of 120 seats. But Judge Makarau’s judgment is the first time that anyone in Mr Mugabe’s administration has admitted that food has been used as a political weapon.

Nathan Shamuyarira, the Zanu PF spokesman, said: “I can’t comment because I haven’t seen the judgment.”

The MDC challenged the election results in Makoni North but Judge Makarau refused to overturn the results saying it was unclear if the food-for-votes campaign was authorised by Mr Mugabe or local agents.

David Coltart, the legal secretary for the MDC, said the judgment on the facts was fair. “It was disappointing that having found that food was used as a political weapon she then failed to find this had a material effect on the result.”

Six months before the election Mr Mugabe stopped food distribution except to targeted groups such as orphans and those with HIV Aids, and claimed a record maize crop was grown the previous summer. He said Zimbabweans would “choke” if they were given any more food.

Details of domestic grain reserves, or lack of them, are an unofficial state secret and not even the UN can find out whether Zimbabwe has any food in storage. Last weekend up to 80 people armed with spears and axes launched a series of potato raids on several farms near the capital, injuring security guards and killing five dogs, the state’s Herald newspaper reported yesterday.

The UN’s World Food Programme is due to begin feeding up to four million hungry Zimbabweans, or a third of the population, at the end of this month. Mr Mugabe told Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, in New York last month that traditional leaders, who are civil servants, should distribute food and not non-governmental organisations.

“What we do not want is for the UN to give grain to NGOs so they make politics out of it,” Mr Mugabe reportedly told Mr Annan.