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Mr Tsvangirai

Tafara Shumba
What unfolded in the MDC-T on Saturday is a triumph of democracy. Opposition politics is very essential in a democracy, only if it is progressive. Zimbabwe has for a long time suffered a grave dearth of such progressive opposition politics. The democratic space in the MDC-T was gradually being closed by certain people who hold a false sense of entitlement to the party and had created an illusion of inviolability around themselves.  Ndabaningi Sithole also held the same sense of entitlement to Zanu. He nevertheless parted ways with his progressive subordinates and emerged a loser. History will repeat itself in the MDC-T.

The brave move to suspend the former MDC-T leader and his bunch of sycophants will hopefully open a new chapter in the opposition political landscape.

The most honourable thing that Mr Tsvangirai can do for now is to accept the decision that was constitutionally reached by the party’s National Executive Council. This will ensure that the former leader of the biggest opposition party to emerge in Zimbabwe since independence leaves with a modicum of reputation.

Democracy demands that one accepts democratically made resolutions. A resolution made by 136 out of 138 does not cross the democratic tenets.

Mr Tsvangirai must uphold democratic principles that he so generously prescribes for others.  He has been accusing President Mugabe of clinging onto power despite his perceived electoral defeat.

It’s unfortunate that Mr Tsvangirai is getting ill advice from people who are also in a panic mode.

For now, Douglas Mwonzora is not qualified to offer any advice to his boss since he is in a state of confusion that is causing him to see nothing but phantoms.  The poor lawyer has been dragging everybody into his party’s internal strife.

In his hallucinations, he saw the hands of Welshman Ncube, President Mugabe, Zanu-PF and the Central Intelligence Organisation in the suspension of the six senior MDC-T officials. Hopefully, Mr Mwonzora will soon come out of the panic mode and reveal the good lawyer in him. Mwonzora and Chamisa are shedding crocodile tears for they stand to benefit out of the split. Although Tsvangirai has apparently chosen Chamisa as his heir, the presence of Biti was a thorn in the fresh.  Mwonzora is also set to take over the secretary general’s post of the Tsvangirai faction. While the two are making the loudest noise, internally they are happy that their potential hurdle has naturally cleared.

It’s only Tsvangirai who knows that the split will leave his faction smaller and weaker.  He knows that with a smaller faction, his chances of landing the top job in the country are frustrated.

If these scapegoats had wanted to destroy the MDC-T, as Mwonzora claims, they could have engineered a defection to their party rather than sponsoring the formation of an entity that is more aggressive than the one they intend to destroy.

In the case that the suspension forces Mr Tsvangirai to take his own political path, you do not need to be clever to see that the renewal faction will emerge stronger and will be a more serious threat to Zanu-PF. It, therefore, defies logic for Zanu-PF to create something that will never add value to it. In any case, Zanu-PF has more pressing issues on its hands than fanning a spilt that  will not bring grit to its political mill.  As a peace-loving party, Zanu-PF seems to see a better devil in the peaceful renewal faction than the weak but belligerent Tsvangirai faction which has been hitherto devouring its own children.

Mr Tsvangirai and his gang need time to sober up and face reality.

One thing they miss is that those who created the MDC-T are the same people who are agitating for a leadership renewal in the same party.  It’s their project. They cannot continue injecting money in a business that is not making any profit.

Mr Tsvangirai must be thankful that the owners of the MDC-T project have not decided to close shop.

They have just decided to change management. Who are Tsvangirai and Mwonzora to resist what the shareholders have decided to do? Mr Tsvangirai wielded rented authority. He was not in power because of his charisma or capability.

He was planted at the helm of the failed regime change project to safeguard the interests of the West.

The issue of legitimacy is out of the question in this wrangle.  The struggle for legitimacy will obviously take the warring factions before the courts.  The honourable courts in their wisdom will demand the list of the National Council members who constituted the meeting that suspended and expelled some members of the renewal team. The courts will also demand to see the same which suspended Mr Tsvangirai and his team.

The Tsvangirai faction claims that the national council that suspended its leaders was constituted by some members from Ncube’s party and other members who were either on suspension or expelled.  It is for the competent court to prove this claim upon receiving the lists. Without prejudicing any faction, it is public knowledge that the Tsvangirai faction expediently manufactured members who constituted the council that suspended its rivals.  In view of the looming court battle, it’s too early for Mr Tsvangirai to threaten legislators with recalling.

Parliament will not be rushed to take a position until the courts resolve legitimacy issues.  Biti will block such a move for such a responsibility lies within his jurisdiction as the secretary general.