Tsvangirai destroying MDC-T, party members say

The situation that has of late characterised what used to be a vibrant workers' party, an MDC where constructive criticism and progressive discourse was nurtured rather than suppressed, where decisions impacting on the party were made collectively rather than unilaterally, a party guided the ethos of meritocracy across the tribal and ethnic divide as opposed to patronage, has alienated itself from these founding principles.

We have watched as these very foundations have been systematically eroded by our President, with the latest affront being the unilateral elevation of Hon Nelson Chamisa and Hon Elias Mudzuri to the Vice Presidency that already has an incumbent, Hon Thokozani Khuphe. It should be pointed out that the party is greater than the sum of its members, including the President. Roy Bennet and Ian Kay now stand vindicated for asking the President to step down due to his questionable decision-making, just as Patson Murimoga and George Rice have challenged the unilateral decision at the High Court.

As a Standing Committee, we stand by our last meeting that sought to have us rubber-stamp the President's imposition and was aborted. The National Council members have been whipped into line through intimidation and even threats of physical violence. Such dense moves play into the hands of Zanu pf and have always been a precursor to disaster as evidenced by the numerous splits that have plagued our party. All these have been self-inflicted.

We are aghast at attempts by the party's patriarchal hierarchy in belittling the immense role played by women in the political history of this country by reducing it to a footnote, because the unilateral appointment of Hon Nelson Chamisa and Hon Elias Mudzuri to dilute the power of Khuphe simply amounts to that. The fact that she comes from the South should not be an excuse to sideline her from ascending to the Presidency, especially considering President Tsvangirai's health challenges, because we are an equal opportunity party.   

Our lives are in danger as we speak for daring to stand up to a dictatorship that has long been in the making. We know that a witch hunt will follow this press statement, where party youth will be unleashed, as has often happened in the past, to suppress dissention. However, as founding fathers, we will not be deterred because we love this party far too much to just let it sink into oblivion when the end is so near. Therefore, it is high time we confront to scourge of unilateralism that is threatening the very existence of our party because if we don't, then posterity will judge us very harshly.