Press Statement on Tsvangirai Rigging!

1. I would like to acknowledge the presence of the national leadership of Renewal Hon Dr Sipepa Nkomo, Hon Dr Gorden Moyo, Hon Reggie Moyo, Hon R Nkomo, Hon Bekithemba Nyathi, and Madam Sakhile Masuku, and all Members of Parliament here present, members of the provincial executive, councillors, and members of press as well as my colleagues formally from the MDC-T.

2. On behalf of my colleagues who were members of MDC-T up until the party's Provincial Congress held on Saturday the 4th of October 2014 and on my own personal behalf, I wish to let the public know that it has become virtually impossible for us to continue belonging to that party anymore.

4. In fact it is practically impossible for any sane individual who experienced the events of the provincial congress to ignore the criticisms that have been levied against MDC-T. The Provincial Congress confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that MDC-T does not respect the norms and values of democracy and its own constitution.

5. The Provincial Congress was used by the members of the Standing Committee in particular Thokozani Khuphe and Abdnico Bhebhe, to impose their friends, relatives, financiers and bootlickers as leaders of the province against the party's constitution, election template and guidelines of the party's internal democracy. The Standing Committee Members behaved like a bunch of petulant school kids, puffing and ranting as they competed in excluding everyone believed to be outside their factions.

6. Hired Thugs and Street Kids were smuggled into the congress as delegates. There was no attempt to bring some semblance of order to the very important occasion of electing the party's provincial leaders. Instead all rules of procedure were bluntly violated and Morgan Tsvangirayi was hapless, hopeless, and powerless and acted with complicit towards the shenanigans of vote manipulation by his vice and company.

7. This confirmed to us what the Renewalists have been saying all along. That MDC-T is an idea whose time has come and gone. Its leadership has lost its moral ground to challenge the evils of ZANU-PF. In fact MDC-T and ZANU-PF are fraternal twins. MDC-T is not an opposition to ZANU-PF anymore. It is an oppo-same. Both parties believe in imposing leaders, vote rigging, disregard for constitutionalism, bigman syndrome, and life presidency.

8. While i personally won the election on Saturday as an Organising Secretary, i don't believe in Positions but Principle, i don't believe in a Person but in People, i don't believe in Pretenses but Pursuasion. A position without principle is empty and a position without people is directionless.

9. My victory sent the Standing Committee members panicking and shell-shocked. Their weak intellect directed them to manhandle me and sent me out of the congress venue. My only sin was to be voted as the OG for the next five years. It was at this point that all hell broke loose and the rigging machinery was brazenly employed. My colleagues in the women and youth assemblies simply could not participate in that electoral facade.

10. It is for these and other reasons that we-the members of Bulawayo Provincial Executive and all Districts have decided to be part of the Renewalists. 500 former officials of the province and districts have directed me to speak on their behalf. By this very statement we declare our resignation en masse from MDC-T. On the other hand we would like to thank the leadership of Renewal for welcoming us to the Orange tree of democrats and progressive people with open hands and open minds.

11. A comprehensive programme to incorporate our structures with Renewal shall begin soon. We will be unveiling in due course these structures at district levels since most of them could not be here for logistical reasons. However, all of them are now fully subscribed members of the Orange Revolution.

12. The Orange which seeks to restore the peoples dignity, rehabilitate our economy, create jobs for our youth, fight corruption, and implement devolutionary constitutional provisions resonate very well with us. Indeed, Renewal is an idea whose time has come. It is unstoppable. It is the party of the future. We now stand ready to work hard to renew our province and our country.

I thank you

Hon Albert Mhlanga, MP
Former Byo Provincial Organising Secretary Mdc-T,
Phd Candidate, University of Lusaka, Zambia.