Opinion / Columnist
Chamisa faces Mnangagwa puzzle
15 May 2019 at 10:08hrs | Views
The recent High Court ruling by Justice Edith Mushore has given MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa a scenario more or less similar to the debacle President Emmerson Mnangagwa is currently battling over his legitimacy.
Mushore threw a dark cloud over Chamisa's leadership of the party in a ruling that has produced equally vexatious interpretations from different legal minds.
Some have dismissed the ruling as empty noise inspired more by politics than by law whilst others have lauded it as the karma for Chamisa's alleged hijacking of power.
Very much excited by what she thinks is justification for her position and moves, Thokozani Khupe has offered the peace branch and called for dialogue with Chamisa to iron out the issue.
A dialogue could work wonders for opposition politics.
The rift with Khupe resulted in internal destabilization as others felt Chamisa had indeed usurped power from a legitimate successor. Intent to preserve their political lives many have remained in the party laden with bitterness and have taken every opportunity to undermine Chamisa.
Secretary general Douglas Mwonzora is the most high profile figure suspected of having remained but with bitterness at Chamisa's machinations to power.
A dialogue could very well heal all that and result in a united party.
The dialogue will be hated by Zanu-PF as it can seriously produce an opposition fit and formidable to fight it.
In its present state the opposition is alive and rejuvenated; thanks to Chamisa, but with Khupe and every other MDC member cast into the wilderness it's even better.
Khupe may not have numbers, as elections showed but there is an argument to be made for an unknown number of the electorate that may have voted against Chamisa or not voted at all due to the Khupe debacle.
Politics is about numbers and more won't hurt anyone other than Zanu-PF.
A communal coming together of the opposition family through dialogue with the disenfranchised will lay to rest aspersions cast on Chamisa, forever blotting his impeccable resurrection of the country's main opposition party.
Arguments that Chamisa usurped power are not healthy to have forever dangling upon him. They need to be dealt with once and for all.
The forthcoming Congress was/is going to do that but dialogue with Khupe can also effectively deal with them too.
However, there are downsides to engaging Khupe, foremost of which would be the admission that Chamisa indeed ascended to power indecently. That won't augur well for his political purity.
For that Chamisa may not entertain a dialogue with madam Khupe.
Secondly, Khupe has been dancing with the enemy since her split with Chamisa and company.
She has lost any opposition politics mojo, tainted by her seeming support for Zanu-PF in its machinations. To receive her back would be to weigh down the opposition with debt and bloat.
She no longer has the moral standing to seriously fight the ruling party as she has exhibited unprincipled tendencies and effectively sold out.
Worse-off the electorate no longer has feelings for her as an opposition party leader. It's hard to imagine Khupe coming back and being accepted by the millions who support the MDC Alliance.
Khupe is now the prodigal son who should never come back.
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Daniel Chigundu is a male journalist in Zimbabwe and has been practising since September 2009. He writes for The Business Connect (newspaper) in Harare, has his own news website Tourism Focus which is biased towards the tourism sector. Daniel is also working with Magamba Network on their project called Open Parliament where they do live coverage of Parliamentary activities on Twitter and Facebook. He is currently the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Journalists Forum, is a member of Zimbabwe Small Broadcasters Association. He holds a Diploma in Communication and Journalism from the Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA), a certificate in Youth leadership training from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a certificate in Citizen Journalism from Magamba Network and is currently a first-year student at Zimbabwe Open University studying for a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Ethics and Organisational Leadership.
Mushore threw a dark cloud over Chamisa's leadership of the party in a ruling that has produced equally vexatious interpretations from different legal minds.
Some have dismissed the ruling as empty noise inspired more by politics than by law whilst others have lauded it as the karma for Chamisa's alleged hijacking of power.
Very much excited by what she thinks is justification for her position and moves, Thokozani Khupe has offered the peace branch and called for dialogue with Chamisa to iron out the issue.
A dialogue could work wonders for opposition politics.
The rift with Khupe resulted in internal destabilization as others felt Chamisa had indeed usurped power from a legitimate successor. Intent to preserve their political lives many have remained in the party laden with bitterness and have taken every opportunity to undermine Chamisa.
Secretary general Douglas Mwonzora is the most high profile figure suspected of having remained but with bitterness at Chamisa's machinations to power.
A dialogue could very well heal all that and result in a united party.
The dialogue will be hated by Zanu-PF as it can seriously produce an opposition fit and formidable to fight it.
In its present state the opposition is alive and rejuvenated; thanks to Chamisa, but with Khupe and every other MDC member cast into the wilderness it's even better.
Khupe may not have numbers, as elections showed but there is an argument to be made for an unknown number of the electorate that may have voted against Chamisa or not voted at all due to the Khupe debacle.
Politics is about numbers and more won't hurt anyone other than Zanu-PF.
A communal coming together of the opposition family through dialogue with the disenfranchised will lay to rest aspersions cast on Chamisa, forever blotting his impeccable resurrection of the country's main opposition party.
Arguments that Chamisa usurped power are not healthy to have forever dangling upon him. They need to be dealt with once and for all.
The forthcoming Congress was/is going to do that but dialogue with Khupe can also effectively deal with them too.
However, there are downsides to engaging Khupe, foremost of which would be the admission that Chamisa indeed ascended to power indecently. That won't augur well for his political purity.
For that Chamisa may not entertain a dialogue with madam Khupe.
Secondly, Khupe has been dancing with the enemy since her split with Chamisa and company.
She has lost any opposition politics mojo, tainted by her seeming support for Zanu-PF in its machinations. To receive her back would be to weigh down the opposition with debt and bloat.
She no longer has the moral standing to seriously fight the ruling party as she has exhibited unprincipled tendencies and effectively sold out.
Worse-off the electorate no longer has feelings for her as an opposition party leader. It's hard to imagine Khupe coming back and being accepted by the millions who support the MDC Alliance.
Khupe is now the prodigal son who should never come back.
-------
Daniel Chigundu is a male journalist in Zimbabwe and has been practising since September 2009. He writes for The Business Connect (newspaper) in Harare, has his own news website Tourism Focus which is biased towards the tourism sector. Daniel is also working with Magamba Network on their project called Open Parliament where they do live coverage of Parliamentary activities on Twitter and Facebook. He is currently the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Journalists Forum, is a member of Zimbabwe Small Broadcasters Association. He holds a Diploma in Communication and Journalism from the Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA), a certificate in Youth leadership training from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a certificate in Citizen Journalism from Magamba Network and is currently a first-year student at Zimbabwe Open University studying for a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Ethics and Organisational Leadership.
Source - www.openparly.co.zw
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