Thokozani Khupe breathes fire...declares MDC-T split

Former Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe has taken over as the leader of the  Movement for Democratic Change Tsvagirayi  (MDC-T) after the party officially split on Friday.

The split was announced by Khupe during a press conference held koBulawayo on Friday morning.

Khupe said, "Today we are officially announcing that the Movement for Democratic Change Tsvagirayi has officially split and now is composed of two groupings. One is led by yours truly and is always abiding by the constitution of the party and of the land. The other one we don't know who leads it because they say they will hold a congress in March to elect their leader."

Khupe accused Mwonzora of trying to force the party members to attend an unconstitutional Congress slated for March 2022.

She said the constitution of the party provided that there should be elective branch assemblies in more than 9 000 branches in the run-up towards an elective congress which means the dissolution of the more than 9 000 branches needs at least two months to be dissolved countrywide. She added that the branch assemblies were very key because they were the ones that elected the Ward Chairpersons who form an integral part of the Congress comprising of least 1 958 delegates.

Khupe said the MDC-T Constitution uses the words at least which means they should be no less than 1 958 delegates in a Congress translating that there is no way that the Congress could be held in one day is being engineered by Mwonzora.

Khupe said, "The process that must take ten months is being made to take two months. You then ask yourself whether this is a Congress of a meeting of few individuals who are supposed to unconstitutionally elect the MDC-T leadership."

Coming to the hot issue of the MDC-Alliance Khupe said the late veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a pact with other principals including Professor Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Jacob Ngarivhume among others but Mwonzora has formed a new political pact or party called the MDC Alliance which comprises of new principals.

"According to the constitution of the MDC-T, Mwonzora has officially fired himself from the MDC-T. It is in this vein that we who are gathered here and others who could not make it to this venue declare  an official split of our beloved party the Movement for Democratic Change Tsvangirayi and there are now two MDC-T formations."

Khupe further appealed to other political players not to interfere in the internal affairs of the MDC-T.