Abednico Bhebhe
In my last opinion piece, I had indicated that my next would be unpacking why a party needs a leader who is wanted by the people in order to win elections in response to some people who are irked by Advocate Chamisa’s popularity. However, I felt a strong urge to salute the MDC-T 2014 structures Organising Secretary, Honorable Abednico Bhebhe for his stance on the unity of purpose to remove the Zanu PF regime, even though I have strong reservations that his wishes will succeed. That piece on the need for a candidate who appeals to the electorate will hopefully be the next, provided nothing else crops up that prompts me to want to acknowledge.
I have always admired Honorable Abednico Bhebhe’s stance on the reunification of the MDC, but I want to point out loud and clear that there have been people in the MDC Khupe faction who have been throwing spanners into the works, making the reunification prospects an uphill. From the onset, all the steps being taken to prepare for a bogus Extra-Ordinary Congress which has been slated for 31 July 2020 are based on a bogus WhatsApp National Council meeting to which some National Council members from the 2014 structures, who are in fact the majority were not invited. We can therefore not talk about an Extra-Ordinary Congress on 31 July 2020 when the real MDC-T 2014 National Council has not met. Unfortunately, a properly constituted National Council meeting is the first step towards organising an Extra-Ordinary Congress for the MDC, in terms of article 6.2.6 of the MDC Constitution which specifically states that “a notice convening an Extra-Ordinary Congress shall be sent to all members entitled to attend and to each branch by the National Council at least one month before the date of the meeting”.
Before a legitimate Council meeting was even held, Dr. Khupe has already “fired” Advocate Chamisa, Honorable Charlton Hwende, Honorable Thabhita Khumalo, Honorable Prosper Mutseyami and Senator Lilian Timveous, some of which people are part of the 2014 Standing Committee. Even if a proper National Council meeting had been held, due process to expel these members would have been followed in terms of the MDC constitution. Members of Parliament have been recalled, and the Dr. Khupe faction is threatening to recall more. The Dr. Khupe faction has barred members of the 2014 Structures from accessing Harvest House. The big question I will have for Mr Bhebhe is, what do you think it will take to heal the wounds that have been created on the persons who have been illegally and unconstitutionally recalled from Parliament, “expelled” from the party, and have been barred from accessing the Party Headquarters? The illegal and unconstitutional actions that those people in the Dr. Khupe faction have caused a lot of damage which needs great effort to repair, compromising the unity of purpose that genuine persons wishing for freedom aspire for. Those careless actions have angered many.
The reality at law, and in terms of the MDC Constitution is that, for the unity that Mr. Bhebhe, I and others wish for to happen, Dr. Khupe and her faction must accept that they erred in holding an unconstitutional Council WhatsApp meeting which decided to expel some officials who were on the 2014 MDC structures; immediately reinstate the Parliamentarians and Senators recalled by Dr. Khupe, and then call for a genuine MDC-T 2014 Council meeting that will deliberate on the unconstitutional and illegal activities that have been happening since the announcement of the Supreme Court Judgement, and then plan the way forward. In short, they should wind the clock to 31 March 2020 when the Supreme Court Judgement was issued.
Very pleasing is the fact that Mr. Bhebhe acknowledges that there are two factions of the MDC-T, the reality being that the faction led by Dr. Khupe has elected its own Standing Committee, so has the formation lead by Advocate Chamisa. The real Standing Committee of the 2014 structures still exists, so those who were appointed into the Standing Committee of the Dr. Khupe led outfit are only serving as members of the Standing Committee of a faction, not the legitimate Standing Committee from the 2014 structures, and the Standing Committee of the MDC Alliance only applies to the MDC Alliance, and only those in the MDC Alliance who were part of the 2014 Standing Committee are eligible to partake in business that involves the Extra-Ordinary Congress if we are to go by the Constitutional Court ruling. So, when Honorable Bhebhe speaks in the Standing Committee of the Dr. Khupe led faction, he is speaking in his capacity as a member of a faction, not as a member of the 2014 MDC Standing Committee.
The option by Mr. Bhebhe to bring together party structures from both formations is only an option if a decision is reached to do away with the Supreme Court ruling because some of the people who are now in the structures of the MDC Alliance were not in the 2014 structures, and some of the people in the Dr. Khupe led faction may also not have been in the 2014 structures. It is only the appropriate full 2014 MDC-T structures that can make the decision on how to implement the Supreme Court Judgement, and time is running out.
It is very unfortunate Dr. Khupe has proved her inability to lead, because instead of simply calling for the appropriate structures of the MDC-2014, has spent 83 days plotting on how to recall MDC Alliance Parliamentarians, and now is left with 7 days of leading the Extra-ordinary Congress in accordance with the Supreme Court Judgement. In the same way, as she planned for the WhatsApp bogus WhatsApp National Council meeting, she could have called a genuine Standing Committee meeting to plan how the Council Meeting Could have been held under lockdown conditions, and a position could have been agreed, but she chose differently, perhaps taking advice from people who were setting her up for failure, no wonder why you now see some of the leaders launch their campaign for Presidency based on their ability to unite the people. In other words, they are confirming that they set you up to fail to ruin your chances of getting the Presidency.
It may be an uphill for Mr. Bhebhe to convince the rest of the members of the Dr. Khupe led faction because they seem more interested in calling meetings with the MDC-Alliance Partners who were not part of the 2014 structures instead of speeding the process to implement his suggestions. I read that a meeting has been lined up with MDC Alliance Partners who have nothing to do with the Supreme Court Judgement. The Dr. Khupe faction could be well aware that they have already violated the provisions of the Supreme Court Judgement and now planning life post-failure to implement the Supreme Court Judgement. They are allowed to strengthen their faction to build a strong party which will square up with the Advocate Chamisa led outfit and other parties in 2023, it is their democratic right.
The Dr. Khupe faction is making a lot of effort to intimidate legislators telling them they will be recalled if they do not obey the Acting President, whose Supreme Court given mandate expires on 30 June 2020. Some legislators are living in fear, terrorised by officials of the MDC Khupe faction, and that is really cruel, unethical, unconstitutional and illegal.
I will reiterate the fact that unit of the purpose of the like-minded is vital to free Zimbabwe from the monster Zanu PF, but marriages of convenience do not deliver the desired results. Let the leaders re-think, introspect, re-commit themselves to the struggle to free Zimbabwe and if in talking terms, join forces to work together. Otherwise, if the self-confession by Senator Morgan Komichi that he had been spying on Advocate Chamisa, and that his heart had never been with the MDC Alliance throughout Advocate Chamisa’s leadership, a self-confession that is confirmed by Senator Mwonzora, were does the trust to work together come from? One can then believe that the same guys who set up Advocate Chamisa to fail could also have set up Dr. Khupe to fail to organise an Extra-Ordinary Congress. Honourable Bhebhe may have some brilliant intentions but has no team. All the same, I wish him the very best in his efforts to create a united front that will have Advocate Chamisa working with two gentlemen who collaborated in their efforts to bring him down as per Senator Komichi’s confession “I have never been with them”. Those who have confessed to spying must prove they will not spy again, and those who have said they will continue to support Emmerson Mnangagwa must prove they will not continue doing so. They have already lost the trust of suffering Zimbabweans.