News / National
Biti blocks Tsvangirai from chairing meeting over Mangoma
11 Mar 2014 at 02:19hrs | Views
Morgan
Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change secretary-general Tendai Biti reportedly blocked party leader Morgan Tsvangirai from chairing a national council meeting which suspended deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma last Friday because of fears he intended to settle scores.
According to the state media, Herald, the case was first discussed by the national executive meeting where Biti opposed the presence of Tsvangirai in the national council meeting that was to deal with Mangoma's case.
Sources said Biti and company convinced the national executive meeting that Mangoma had no case to answer, but Tsvangirai insisted that he had to be made answerable for his calls for leadership renewal.
Biti and his supporters in the national executive insisted that if the matter was to be brought to the national council for disciplinary hearing, then Tsvangirai had to recuse himself because of his stance against Mangoma.
Tsvangirai reluctantly agreed to recuse himself before he hand-picked his right hand man, party national chairperson Lovemore Moyo to chair the meeting.
Sources who attended the national council meeting said there was heated debate on why Mangoma was being charged and suspended, yet there were grave cases that were never brought for disciplinary action.
Biti, the sources said, had argued that it was unprocedural to charge Mangoma, who is a standing committee member, without giving him a charge sheet and hearing his side of the story.
On his Facebook wall yesterday, mdc-t youth assembly secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi said democracy was being "molested" in mdc-t .
He said the mdc-t national executive, which is an administrative body tasked with the day-to-day running of the party, refused to draw a charge sheet against Mangoma.
"It is important to point out that democracy is being raped in mdc-t ," said the source. "Biti and other senior members protested that Tsvangirai should recuse himself from this matter.
"Although he admitted, he cherry picked his blued eyed boy (Lovemore) Moyo who also ensured that Mangoma was suspended although the national executive had ruled out that he had no case to answer.
"Article 12 of the MDC-T constitution which stipulates disciplinary procedures for standing committee members requires two thirds majority vote of the national council for one to be suspended.
"But for the national council to make such vote, the member concerned should be given the right to know the charges in time and make a response. Surprisingly, Mangoma was charged without any charge sheet and suspended without two thirds of the nominal 180 members of the national executive."
The source said only 14 people who were strategically planted in the meeting voted in favour of Mangoma's suspension.
For instance, Harare province was represented by Shakespeare Mukoyi who is not the provincial chairman, while Bulawayo was represented by Albert Mhlanga the organising secretary.
"Those people were not representing the provinces, but they were expressing their personal views," said the source.
Moyo, the source said, failed to answer some hard questions asked by Mangoma loyalists.
"Mrs Kerry Kay asked why Mangoma was the only one being persecuted for expressing divergent views in the party," said the source. "She said Engineer Elias Mudzuri and Roy Bennett also expressed their views calling for leadership renewal, but no one raised objections.
"She said Nelson Chamisa and Obert Gutu were fingered in the WikiLeaks reports for backbiting the (MDC-T) president and nothing was done. She said why target Mangoma who in any case expressed a view which is also shared by many people in the party?"
It also emerged that some members of the national council were barred from attending the meeting, while non members were allowed in.
"Julius Magarangoma, who is the Manicaland provincial chairman, was served with a suspension letter in the meeting and was asked to go out, while Mashonaland Central secretary for information Bigboy Haurovi was barred from attending.
"Haurovi was accused of being part of the team calling for leadership renewal in the party. The entire Matabeleland North delegation was also barred from attending the meeting."
On his Facebook page, Mkwananzi accused Chamisa of fanning divisions in the party and being over ambitious.
"The recent praise singing at a rally in Glen Norah was a deliberate ploy to give an impression of unquestioned loyalty to the president, while deflecting his own dismal performance as the organising secretary," he said.
"In addition, Chamisa seems comfortable to keep the party at abeyance, purge potential competitors and pave the way for his eventual take-over as president when he reaches the 40-year threshold. Surely, how can one individual be allowed to hold the people`s movement at ransom to satisfy his selfish, personal presidential ambitions?"
Mkwananzi dismissed as falsehoods claims by party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora that Mangoma and others were assaulted by Zanu-PF members at Harvest House.
According to the state media, Herald, the case was first discussed by the national executive meeting where Biti opposed the presence of Tsvangirai in the national council meeting that was to deal with Mangoma's case.
Sources said Biti and company convinced the national executive meeting that Mangoma had no case to answer, but Tsvangirai insisted that he had to be made answerable for his calls for leadership renewal.
Biti and his supporters in the national executive insisted that if the matter was to be brought to the national council for disciplinary hearing, then Tsvangirai had to recuse himself because of his stance against Mangoma.
Tsvangirai reluctantly agreed to recuse himself before he hand-picked his right hand man, party national chairperson Lovemore Moyo to chair the meeting.
Sources who attended the national council meeting said there was heated debate on why Mangoma was being charged and suspended, yet there were grave cases that were never brought for disciplinary action.
Biti, the sources said, had argued that it was unprocedural to charge Mangoma, who is a standing committee member, without giving him a charge sheet and hearing his side of the story.
On his Facebook wall yesterday, mdc-t youth assembly secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi said democracy was being "molested" in mdc-t .
He said the mdc-t national executive, which is an administrative body tasked with the day-to-day running of the party, refused to draw a charge sheet against Mangoma.
"It is important to point out that democracy is being raped in mdc-t ," said the source. "Biti and other senior members protested that Tsvangirai should recuse himself from this matter.
"Although he admitted, he cherry picked his blued eyed boy (Lovemore) Moyo who also ensured that Mangoma was suspended although the national executive had ruled out that he had no case to answer.
"Article 12 of the MDC-T constitution which stipulates disciplinary procedures for standing committee members requires two thirds majority vote of the national council for one to be suspended.
"But for the national council to make such vote, the member concerned should be given the right to know the charges in time and make a response. Surprisingly, Mangoma was charged without any charge sheet and suspended without two thirds of the nominal 180 members of the national executive."
The source said only 14 people who were strategically planted in the meeting voted in favour of Mangoma's suspension.
For instance, Harare province was represented by Shakespeare Mukoyi who is not the provincial chairman, while Bulawayo was represented by Albert Mhlanga the organising secretary.
"Those people were not representing the provinces, but they were expressing their personal views," said the source.
Moyo, the source said, failed to answer some hard questions asked by Mangoma loyalists.
"Mrs Kerry Kay asked why Mangoma was the only one being persecuted for expressing divergent views in the party," said the source. "She said Engineer Elias Mudzuri and Roy Bennett also expressed their views calling for leadership renewal, but no one raised objections.
"She said Nelson Chamisa and Obert Gutu were fingered in the WikiLeaks reports for backbiting the (MDC-T) president and nothing was done. She said why target Mangoma who in any case expressed a view which is also shared by many people in the party?"
It also emerged that some members of the national council were barred from attending the meeting, while non members were allowed in.
"Julius Magarangoma, who is the Manicaland provincial chairman, was served with a suspension letter in the meeting and was asked to go out, while Mashonaland Central secretary for information Bigboy Haurovi was barred from attending.
"Haurovi was accused of being part of the team calling for leadership renewal in the party. The entire Matabeleland North delegation was also barred from attending the meeting."
On his Facebook page, Mkwananzi accused Chamisa of fanning divisions in the party and being over ambitious.
"The recent praise singing at a rally in Glen Norah was a deliberate ploy to give an impression of unquestioned loyalty to the president, while deflecting his own dismal performance as the organising secretary," he said.
"In addition, Chamisa seems comfortable to keep the party at abeyance, purge potential competitors and pave the way for his eventual take-over as president when he reaches the 40-year threshold. Surely, how can one individual be allowed to hold the people`s movement at ransom to satisfy his selfish, personal presidential ambitions?"
Mkwananzi dismissed as falsehoods claims by party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora that Mangoma and others were assaulted by Zanu-PF members at Harvest House.
Source - Herald
