High Court dismisses MDC-T VPs case

The High Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai's appointment of national executive members Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Engineer Elias Mudzuri as party co-vice presidents last year.

Card-carrying member Patson Murimoga and provincial chairman George Rice sued the party leader on the basis that he desecrated the opposition political party's constitution by unilaterally elevating the duo into the presidium.

Justice Hlekani Mwayera decided the matter on the preliminary points raised by Advocate Thabani Mpofu who acted for the duo and their leader.

It was argued that Murimoga and Rice had no legal standing to launch such an application, which the court accepted and summarily threw out the application.

Tsvangirai who is battling colon cancer and hospitalised in South Africa, said the promotion of the two was meant to help him run the party as the country prepares for the 2018 elections.

This, however, angered some party bigwigs who felt Tsvangirai could not unilaterally hand-pick his "blue-eyed boys" to the lofty positions ahead of the rest in the contest to succeed him.

In their application, Murimoga and Rice argued that Tsvangirai and the party national council ignored the party's constitution in recommending and subsequently cherry-picking the co-VPs.

They argued that the national council could not appoint a deputy president because he or she should be voted for from nominations from provinces that make up the MDC-T.

The national council, the two averred, was provided for in Article 6.4.1 of the MDC-T's Constitution and did not empower the council or the party president to appoint a deputy president.