Chamisa linked MDC Alliance members fire Mwonzora

MDC Alliance principals have removed the MDC-T from the grouping, accusing it of acting unilaterally without consulting them, a move that will likely throw off the rails the decision by the Douglas Mwonzora-led party to use the alliance name in the forthcoming by-elections.

The MDC-T led by late Morgan Tsvangirai in 2017 went into an electoral pact with six other political parties that included Welshman Ncube's MDC, Tendai Biti's People's Democratic Party, Jacob Ngarivhume (Transform Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe People First (Agrippah Mutambara), Zanu-Ndonga and Mathias Guchutu of the Multi-Racial Christian Democrats (MCD).

Tsvangirai appointed his then vice-president Nelson Chamisa to represent MDC-T party in the negotiations to form MDC Alliance in an electoral pact that would form a united opposition against Zanu-PF in the elections.

However, when Tsvangirai died just before the 2018 elections, the grouping chose Chamisa in controversial circumstances while Mwonzora remained party secretary-general before he was ousted at the 2019 congress.

Chamisa, who almost beat Zanu-PF leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 elections, represented MDC Alliance.

But Mwonzora, who took over as MDC-T leader last year in an equally controversial extraordinary congress conducted after a Supreme Court ruling declared Chamisa as an illegitimate leader of the party, has vowed to fight anyone who uses the name. He said it was the MDC-T that went into an alliance and since he was now the leader, he also reserved the right to the name.

Recently, one of the MDC Alliance principals, Guchutu said the MDC-T had been fired with immediate effect for violating the agreement, accusing Mwonzora of making unilateral decisions such as recalling MDC Alliance MPs without consulting other principals.

Mwonzora was also accused of visiting Mnangagwa without consulting other principals, as well as pocketing funds from the Political Parties Finance Act.

"The MDC Alliance principal signatories to the agreement signed on August 5, 2017 unanimously agreed to expel the MDC-T from the membership of the alliance as you were found to be in complete disregard of the letter and spirit of the composite agreement as you brought the name of the alliance into disrepute," Guchutu wrote on July 12.

"You are masquerading as the head of the alliance without any way discussing consulting or even updating your principal colleagues. The expulsion is with effect from July 13, 2021 at 8am," he said.