Tsvangirai turning away from MDC-T founding ideals

The situation that of late characterises 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 by the ethos of meritocracy across the tribal and ethnic divide as opposed to patronage, is tragic as the opposition has now alienated itself from these founding principles.

We have watched as these very foundations have been systematically eroded by our president, Morgan Tsvangirai, with the latest affront being the unilateral elevation of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri to the vice-presidency that is already occupied by Thokozani Khupe. It should be pointed out that the party is greater than the sum of its members, including the president.

Roy Bennett and Ian Kay, and even the likes of Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma, now stand vindicated for asking the MDC-T president to step down due to his questionable decisions just as Patson Murimoga and George Rice have challenged his latest move on the vice-presidency at the High Court.

As concerned members of the standing committee, we stand by resolutions of our last meeting which sought us to rubber-stamp the imposition of the two vice-presidents and was aborted. The national council members were whipped into line through intimidation and even threats of physical violence. Such politics of patronage, manipulation and coercion play into the hands of Zanu PF and have always been a precursor to disaster as evidenced by the numerous splits that have plagued the party - all of them self-inflicted.

We are dismayed by the party's patriarchal hierarchy - new MDC-T phallocracy - in belittling the immense role played by women in the political history of this country by reducing it to a footnote as the unilateral appointments of the two simply amounts to that.

The fact that she comes from the southern part of the country should not be an excuse to sideline her from ascending to the presidency of the party, especially considering Tsvangirai's health challenges - we are an equal opportunities, not regional, party.

Our lives are in danger as we speak for daring to stand up to the dictatorship that has long been in the making. We know that a witch-hunt will follow this letter to the media where party youths will be unleashed, as has often happened in the past, to suppress dissent.

However, as the founding fathers of the party, 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 the scourge of unilateralism and despotism that is threatening the very existence of our party because if we don't, then posterity will judge us harshly.