News / National
'Tsvangirai must return MDC-T to constitutionalism,' says Mangoma
27 Feb 2014 at 03:18hrs | Views
MDC-T deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, the author of a damning letter a month ago that demanded party leader Morgan Tsvangirai step-down, Wednesday penned another missive, accusing the former trade unionist of unilateral violation of the party constitution.
In the letter dated February 24, Mangoma implored Tsvangirai to return the party to constitutionalism, drawing attention to a litany of transgressions by the ex-premier.
Mangoma and Tsvangirai have crossed swords, with the former aligned to hawks in the MDC-T pushing for their leader to quit as president and pave way for an elective early congress.
"Without a doubt even though there were other options that I provided in the (last month) letter, your actions thereafter indicate beyond any doubt that it is the suggestion that you step-down that incensed you the most," wrote Mangoma, accusing Tsvangirai of whipping up emotions in the party.
Mangoma quoted the MDC-T constitution, arguing his congress.
"Without doubt even though there were other options that I provided in the (last month's) letter, your actions thereafter indicate beyond any doubt that it is the suggestion that you step-down that incensed you the most," wrote Mangoma, accusing Tsvangirai of whipping up emotions in the party.
Mangoma quoted the MDC-T constitution, arguing his actions were "well in line with internationally recognised principles of democracy".
"These values are also enshrined in our party constitution and for the avoidance of doubt I refer you to Article 4,6 of the constitution which states that; the MDC -T family believes in freedom of speech, freedom of expression and further, the freedom of circulation of ideas within the movement," the former Energy Minister wrote.
He reminded Tsvangirai of his duty to uphold party constitution and promote the principles of democratic discourse and participation and equity of all members of the MDC-T
"Regrettably your response to the letter that I handed to you in good faith, which I have referred to above, has fallen foul of the pillars of our constitution and what is expected of you as the leader of the party," Mangoma charged. "Since your receipt of the letter you have held a number of meetings where your attitude has been marked by belligerence and non-tolerance of views that are divergent to yours. You have stated clearly that you will not stand aside and accused me and others whom you have not named, of seeking to unseat you from the presidency unconstitutionally."
He said Tsvangirai had become averse to democratic principles by considering the option to resign as "representing a betrayal of the struggle for democracy even though Article 9:21 provides for the resignation of the president and calling of an extraordinary congress thereafter".
"Unfortunately, according to you, holding a different view is synonymous to betraying the struggle for democracy. As you acknowledged, my track record in the fight for democracy speaks for itself," Mangoma added.
The deputy treasurer-general said Tsvangirai's behaviour had resulted in his and other leaders' violent attack on February 15, adding the "unfortunate incident" could have been avoided. He cited a number of "facts" that he said buttressed his conclusion that the attack was pre-planned.
"The reason for your convening this meeting remains unclear to all but you and a few amongst the leadership. In the actual meeting you openly accused me of attempting a coup despite the fact that I had handed to you this letter in private. Even more, I was not accorded the opportunity to set the record straight to the delegates, many of whom had very incorrect facts about on-going developments," said Mangoma.
Mangoma and youth secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi were assaulted by angry youths following a meeting of the party's 210 district chairpersons, while secretary-general Tendai Biti and other top leaders escaped by a whisker. Mangoma is on record as saying Tsvangirai might have had a hand in the attack.
"After your address to the demonstrators you then approached me and offered to give me protection against bodily harm from the demonstrators. It is not clear why, if you had come to the conclusion that I was in danger of being assaulted, you did not, as president of the party, direct the demonstrators to disperse," charged Mangoma.
"As we were walking out of Harvest House, despite your assurances to me that you would protect me, you deliberately fell behind, thereby according the demonstrating youths, the opportunity to assault me in the manner that they did."
In the aftermath of the attack, Mangoma averred Tsvangirai "did not show the concern and outrage that I would have expected from you as the president of the party".
"Your spokesperson (Luke Tamborinyoka) issued contradictory statements which sought to trivialise the incident. The party spokesperson's statements earlier had sought to lay the blame on a non-existent hand within the party in the form of Zanu-PF," Mangoma wrote. "Similarly you have not accorded the Guardian Council an opportunity to proffer their wisdom and counsel as we search a viable option for the way forward.
"I remain worried that the meetings that you called on 15 February 2014 were not constitutional and tended to usurp the powers of the national council, the body mandated to deal with matters such as the one at hand. My observation is that we are getting more and more unconstitutional in the manner that we are handling party issues"
The Guardian Council is made up of a group of senior party leaders and is headed by Sekai Holland. It has reportedly been trying to broker a deal that could see Tsvangirai and Mangoma smoking the peace pipe. Tsvangirai, according to insiders, had rebuffed its efforts.
Mangoma proposed swift disciplinary action against those fingered in the attack to allow for party structures and forums such as the national council and national executive to discuss his proposals and reverse the attempts to victimise and purge party leaders in structures perceived to have contrary views to Tsvangirai.
He concluded that the purpose of his letter was "to persuade us to go back to constitutionalism".
Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai's spokesperson, last night claimed his boss was yet to get the letter.
"I don't know anything about it," Tamborinyoka said.
"The person that I work for doesn't have a copy of that letter. Mangoma should have given that letter to Tsvangirai, not newspapers."
In the letter dated February 24, Mangoma implored Tsvangirai to return the party to constitutionalism, drawing attention to a litany of transgressions by the ex-premier.
Mangoma and Tsvangirai have crossed swords, with the former aligned to hawks in the MDC-T pushing for their leader to quit as president and pave way for an elective early congress.
"Without a doubt even though there were other options that I provided in the (last month) letter, your actions thereafter indicate beyond any doubt that it is the suggestion that you step-down that incensed you the most," wrote Mangoma, accusing Tsvangirai of whipping up emotions in the party.
Mangoma quoted the MDC-T constitution, arguing his congress.
"Without doubt even though there were other options that I provided in the (last month's) letter, your actions thereafter indicate beyond any doubt that it is the suggestion that you step-down that incensed you the most," wrote Mangoma, accusing Tsvangirai of whipping up emotions in the party.
Mangoma quoted the MDC-T constitution, arguing his actions were "well in line with internationally recognised principles of democracy".
"These values are also enshrined in our party constitution and for the avoidance of doubt I refer you to Article 4,6 of the constitution which states that; the MDC -T family believes in freedom of speech, freedom of expression and further, the freedom of circulation of ideas within the movement," the former Energy Minister wrote.
He reminded Tsvangirai of his duty to uphold party constitution and promote the principles of democratic discourse and participation and equity of all members of the MDC-T
"Regrettably your response to the letter that I handed to you in good faith, which I have referred to above, has fallen foul of the pillars of our constitution and what is expected of you as the leader of the party," Mangoma charged. "Since your receipt of the letter you have held a number of meetings where your attitude has been marked by belligerence and non-tolerance of views that are divergent to yours. You have stated clearly that you will not stand aside and accused me and others whom you have not named, of seeking to unseat you from the presidency unconstitutionally."
He said Tsvangirai had become averse to democratic principles by considering the option to resign as "representing a betrayal of the struggle for democracy even though Article 9:21 provides for the resignation of the president and calling of an extraordinary congress thereafter".
"Unfortunately, according to you, holding a different view is synonymous to betraying the struggle for democracy. As you acknowledged, my track record in the fight for democracy speaks for itself," Mangoma added.
The deputy treasurer-general said Tsvangirai's behaviour had resulted in his and other leaders' violent attack on February 15, adding the "unfortunate incident" could have been avoided. He cited a number of "facts" that he said buttressed his conclusion that the attack was pre-planned.
"The reason for your convening this meeting remains unclear to all but you and a few amongst the leadership. In the actual meeting you openly accused me of attempting a coup despite the fact that I had handed to you this letter in private. Even more, I was not accorded the opportunity to set the record straight to the delegates, many of whom had very incorrect facts about on-going developments," said Mangoma.
Mangoma and youth secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi were assaulted by angry youths following a meeting of the party's 210 district chairpersons, while secretary-general Tendai Biti and other top leaders escaped by a whisker. Mangoma is on record as saying Tsvangirai might have had a hand in the attack.
"After your address to the demonstrators you then approached me and offered to give me protection against bodily harm from the demonstrators. It is not clear why, if you had come to the conclusion that I was in danger of being assaulted, you did not, as president of the party, direct the demonstrators to disperse," charged Mangoma.
"As we were walking out of Harvest House, despite your assurances to me that you would protect me, you deliberately fell behind, thereby according the demonstrating youths, the opportunity to assault me in the manner that they did."
In the aftermath of the attack, Mangoma averred Tsvangirai "did not show the concern and outrage that I would have expected from you as the president of the party".
"Your spokesperson (Luke Tamborinyoka) issued contradictory statements which sought to trivialise the incident. The party spokesperson's statements earlier had sought to lay the blame on a non-existent hand within the party in the form of Zanu-PF," Mangoma wrote. "Similarly you have not accorded the Guardian Council an opportunity to proffer their wisdom and counsel as we search a viable option for the way forward.
"I remain worried that the meetings that you called on 15 February 2014 were not constitutional and tended to usurp the powers of the national council, the body mandated to deal with matters such as the one at hand. My observation is that we are getting more and more unconstitutional in the manner that we are handling party issues"
The Guardian Council is made up of a group of senior party leaders and is headed by Sekai Holland. It has reportedly been trying to broker a deal that could see Tsvangirai and Mangoma smoking the peace pipe. Tsvangirai, according to insiders, had rebuffed its efforts.
Mangoma proposed swift disciplinary action against those fingered in the attack to allow for party structures and forums such as the national council and national executive to discuss his proposals and reverse the attempts to victimise and purge party leaders in structures perceived to have contrary views to Tsvangirai.
He concluded that the purpose of his letter was "to persuade us to go back to constitutionalism".
Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai's spokesperson, last night claimed his boss was yet to get the letter.
"I don't know anything about it," Tamborinyoka said.
"The person that I work for doesn't have a copy of that letter. Mangoma should have given that letter to Tsvangirai, not newspapers."
Source - zimmail
