Zimpapers Logo

“Not only is Tsvangirai whole-heartedly fascinated with men and women of his tribe, but he also sometimes, willy nilly, manipulates his party’s processes to favour persons not of similar origins, as long as such persons serve the main selfish interest; to hold the reins of power tightly and indisputably, wherever he goes.”

When last Thursday MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai made his controversial appointment of two more deputies in the persons of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri three frames presented themselves to me to understand this development: first, necessity; second, tribe; and third, legality.

And as it turned out these are the three key points that people have been discussing and it would seem any of the three will likely further split the opposition party.

It is a trite point that the move was inspired by Tsvangirai’s necessity to manage succession in his party as he increasingly looks at a setting sun of his career in light of ill health and an inevitable exit from the scene due to his failure to wrestle power from Zanu-PF and President Mugabe.

Nobody is begrudging him that, really.

The issue of legality would always come to play, especially when the appointments — not just a single co-option — were done outside congress.

Morgan Tsvangirai

Tsvangirai has tried to defend himself saying that a supreme organ of the party outside of Congress, the national council, empowers him to make the appointments that he did.

Still, legal arguments are that, as this paper cited yesterday, Tsvangirai actually violated Section 6.4.3.1, which deals with top positions as elected, of the MDC-T constitution amended and adopted at its 6th congress at the City Sports Centre in Harare, in November 2014.

Offices such as president and deputy, chairperson and deputy chairperson, secretary general, treasurer-general, organising secretary, secretary for information and publicity and chairpersons of the youth and women’s assemblies must be elected, according to legal experts.

Thokozani Khupe

And section 9.1.4 of the same constitution has the injunction that, “The president shall, with the exception of the deputy president and deputy chairperson, appoint deputies to officers of congress from a pool of National Executive members elected from provinces and other office bearers where such is provided in this constitution.”

Tsvangirai disregarded that whether he had been given legal legroom or not — which was limited anyway — for obvious reasons.

Tsvangirai is not a fan of constitutionalism and this is how he split the party in 2005 when he disregarded the party’s national executive council decision on the issue of the senate vote.

Last Thursday was a continuation of his dictatorial streak — which the likes of Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti have always decried — as it is understood that the party had decided to have an additional vice president yet Tsvangirai went on to give us two.

Nelson Chamisa

He now apparently hides behind the national council decision for his illegal actions.

The third talking point has been about tribe — and Tsvangirai’s practice of the atavistic brand of politics of the tribe.

I immediately recalled a book written about Tsvangirai by former journalist who was editor of The Worker that was published by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

The ZCTU is where Tsvangirai earned his political stripes at the turn of the century as the labour movement gave birth to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

The book is called “A Travesty of Democracy”.

In that book Muzhuzha illustrates that from his days at the ZCTU to the MDC, Tsvangirai appears to be a tribalist who surrounds himself with loyalists from his Karanga tribe, even stuffing the then Bulawayo branch with his Karanga cohorts.

Elias Mudzuri

And when the MDC party held its inaugural congress in January 2000, as illustrated in the book, Tapiwa Mashakada, Isaac Matongo, Nelson Chamisa, Lucia Matibenga, Tendai Biti, Sekai Holland, Learnmore Jongwe, and Job Sikhala made the line-up.

Muzhuzha reports that when the MDC made its debut parliamentary fight, of the 20 seats for a cosmopolitan Harare where there were many tribes and colours, no Asian, Coloured, Ndebele, Manyika, Mutoko person made it into the 20 Parly seats reserved for Harare.

Of these, Muzhuzha reports, one went to Zanu-PF and the others save for two which went to Mike Auret and Trudy Stevenson, went to Tsvangirai’s Karanga henchmen.

Of course he had also long shunted aside the trade unionists who only had two representatives in the line-up.

Again, when the inclusive Government came into being in 2009, Tsvangirai just couldn’t resist his tribe.

The Karanga tribespeople who made the list were: Tendai Biti, Elton Mangoma, Tapiwa Mashakada, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, Paurina Gwanyanya-Mpariwa, Henry Madzorera, Nelson Chamisa, Fidelis Mhashu, Heneri Dzinotyiwei, Jameson Timba, Sekai Holland, Obert Gutu, Sesel Zvidzai, Tichaona Mudzingwa and Tongai Matutu.

Muzhuzha adds that in late August 2010 a mini-reshuffle produced the promotion of Mashakada, Gutu and Matutu.

Muzhuzha says of Tsvangirai: “. . . so not only is he whole-heartedly fascinated with men and women of his tribe, but he also sometimes, willy nilly, manipulates his party’s processes to favour persons not of similar origins, as long as such persons serve the main selfish interest: to hold the reigns (sic) of power tightly and indisputably, wherever he goes.”

That is the story of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri today.

Not only that, we even hear that Thokozani Khupe’s mother is a Karanga, while Tsvangirai himself has his roots in the Gutu area, to complete a most incredible tribal “presidium” ever.

When you look at these things, and with the benefit of hindsight, you realise that there is a method to Tsvangirai’s Thursday madness.

He is acting himself, every inch in the interest of his power and tribe.

His spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka had to explain in a statement that: “Some (people) have raised valid issues concerning gender and tribe but as President Tsvangirai pointed out last week, it was the nature of the job that needed to be done that determined the candidates that were appointed and not any other factor.

It did not matter where the cats came from as long as they catch mice!”

He further defended his boss saying: “We note a mischievous attempt to brand Tsvangirai as a dictator who does not consult.

Contrary to this warped and erroneous view, those who know him well are aware that if the man has any weakness at all, it is that he consults too much; even where such consultations may (not) be necessary.”

Of course something rings hollow in it all, especially if a rational and fair-minded man from Domboshava has to clean the mess of a blundering tribalist who finds his Karanga tribe just irresistible.