Tsvangirai in fear of being expelled from MDC-T

MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai panicked yesterday at the prospects of being expelled from the party and filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking to stop his disciplinary hearing by a faction led by estranged secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti today.

At the time of going to press both parties were locked in Justice Happias Zhou's chambers where the matter was being tackled.

Mr Tsvangirai was recently summoned by Mr Biti's faction called the MDC Renewal Team to appear before a disciplinary committee facing 17 counts of violating the party's constitution.

Party national chairman Mr Lovemore Moyo was also summoned for the disciplinary hearing.
Mr Tsvangirai's charges include contravening "sections of article 2.1 of the disciplinary code of conduct and regulations" as stated in MDC-T's constitution.
The Renewal Team accuses Mr Tsvangirai of failing to provide "competent leadership" and acting in a manner detrimental to party objectives.

Mr Biti and his lieutenants suspended Mr Tsvangirai and five other MDC-T officials in March, accusing them of violating the party constitution and using violence as a political tool.

In turn, Mr Tsvangirai immediately fired Mr Biti and others who endorsed his suspension.
Mr Moyo faces four counts, which include failure to conduct free and fair primary elections before last year's harmonised polls.

The hearings of the two have been set down for today at 9am in Harare.
In the urgent chamber application filed yesterday by Mwonzora and Associates, MDC-T – through Mr Thamsanqa Mahlangu and Mr Moyo – is seeking an order barring the Renewal Team from implementing the resolution of the Mandel Training Centre meeting of April 26 this year.

The urgent application was filed barely two days after the same faction filed a normal court application seeking to be declared the legitimate custodians of the party and an order compelling the Biti faction to return party assets in its possession.

The Tsvangirai faction listed Mr Biti, Mr Elton Mangoma, Mr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo and Mrs Sekai Holland as respondents in their application to stop the disciplinary hearings.

Mr Mahlangu, who is the party's secretary for water development and management, deposed an affidavit on behalf of the party.
He argued that the Mandel meeting was a nullity because it fell short of a quorum as required by the party constitution.

It was also argued that Mr Nkomo, who chaired the meeting, had no such authority in terms of the party constitution.
It was further argued that the national council meeting was not properly constituted, another ground that the Tsvangirai faction banks on in seeking to invalidate the meeting and the resolutions.

The decision to suspend Mr Tsvangirai and several standing committee members from the party and instituting disciplinary actions against them was an illegality and that the all the resolution should be nullified, the papers read.

Out of the 13 members of the standing committee, only three — Mr Biti, Mr Mangoma and Mr Solomon Madzore — attended the Mandel meeting, it was pointed out.
Only eight out of 54 national executive committee members attended the same meeting and the youth assembly was not properly represented at the meeting, according to Mr Mahlangu,

The Renewal Team has prepared several charges for Mr Tsvangirai which include that he unilaterally entered the inclusive Government without consulting MDC-T's national council.

It is also alleged that he clandestinely started negotiations for purchase of the Highlands Government house which he still lives in even though he is no longer Prime Minister in Government.

Mr Tsvangirai also stands accused of "unilaterally" recommending ambassadors, including his nephew Mr Hebson Makuvise.
The Renewal Team further alleges that Mr Tsvangirai participated in the 2013 elections in disregard of an MDC-T national council resolution spelling out minimum conditions for participation.

He allegedly "practised and promoted" political intolerance when he convened a meeting of select party officials and district chairpersons and incited them to denigrate and denounce deputy treasurer-general Mr Elton Mangoma.

Mr Tsvangirai is also accused of convening a national council meeting that "unprocedurally" suspended Mr Mangoma.