Nelson Chamisa to form a new Political Party: Molokele

An exclusive interview with the MDC Alliance spokesperson Mr Daniel Molokele .

By Hosia Mviringi

17, April 2020

MDC Alliance leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa is poised to form a new political party in the aftermath of a devastating Supreme Court ruling which declared that he unlawfully ascended to the leadership of the party in 2018 after the death of the late leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Supreme Court contends that indeed Advocate Nelson Chamisa was a beneficiary of a flawed succession process through which the late leader unilaterally appointed two extra Vice Presidents outside the provisions of the Party Constitution.These were Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Engineer Elias Mudzuri.

The Supreme Court upheld the earlier ruling by the High Court of Zimbabwe delivered in March 2019 which ruled that both Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Ms Thokozani Khupe were just but leaders of two rival factions of the MDC, thus effectively pressing the reset button and invoking the party Constitution.

The Supreme Court ruling means that the party will now revert back to its pre-2018 structures and resultantly mandating Ms Thokozani Khupe, as the legitimate acting President of the party to call for and convene an extraordinary Congress to choose substantive leadership.

But despite the seeming bravado from the outside, a peek into Mr Chamisa's internal circles shows a party in turmoil and a leadership gripped with confusion and fear.

On the outside they paint a picture of a party fully in control and unperturbed. They pretend that the ruling is brutum fulmen, meaning that it is unimplementable and academic. Yet from the inside they know that they are standing on quick sand and that if the ruling is enforced to the letter they will sink into oblivion.

This publication had the privilege of an interview with the MDC Alliance Party national spokesperson Mr Daniel Molokele (DM) on the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on the Party and the way forward. Hereunder is the full interview with the Political Bureau correspondent Hosia Mviringi (HM)

Hosia Mviringi (HM) Welcome Mr Daniel Molokeli to this ground breaking interview since the Supreme Court ruling was delivered.

Daniel Molokele (DM) Thank you for having me.

HM : Mr Molokele your Party MDC Alliance approached the Supreme Court to appeal an earlier ruling by the High Court last year in March which apparently was not in your favor.

What motivated the Party to appeal the ruling ?

DM : President Advocate Nelson Chamisa never approached any Court for recourse. You will recall that the High Court ruling that was delivered earlier in March was not in our favor yet we were at an advanced stage preparing for our Congress in May the same year.

So it was agreed among the leadership to appeal the case right away at the Supreme Court to avoid a situation whereby our Congress would be disrupted or outrightly stopped as result of the High Court ruling.We couldn’t risk that so we appealed the case.It was a strategy of buying time while our Congress progressed as planned.

The MDC Alliance party is not built on Court processes but its built on the people of Zimbabwe.That is where it derives its strength.For avoidance of doubt the Courts were used as an extension of an ongoing battle between Advocate Nelson Chamisa and his main rival President ED Mnangagwa.

HM : So Mr Molokele do you admit that in essence you deliberately abused Court processes by knowingly filing a defective and vexatious appeal? In other words you admit that you approached the Court with dirty hands ?

DM : I have already answered that above.

HM : Mr Molokele tell me if Advocate Nelson Chamisa will consider forming a new Political Party in view of your latest loss at the Supreme Court?

DM : It is too early to tell.But that is a strong option for us on the table.

The point is that the Supreme Court ruling is not an end in itself but just a chapter in an ongoing political process.It could just as well be the beginning.There will surely be more twist and turns.There will be morally new chapters ahead.

The Supreme Court ruling is not a judicial or legal judgement but it is mere political ruling.So when you look at the broader context of the contestations between ZANU PF and MDC Alliance then you will understand that even as we learnt from the Constitutional Court ruling back in 2018 it becomes important for us to remain open minded.

We know that our Courts are not independent at they are exposes to political influence. For us this is a case of the continuation of the battle between the MDC Alliance and ZANU PF so it becomes important for us to be open minded in terms of options available to us.

HM : The High Court by order of its ruling virtually nullified all processes that took place after the passing of Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (may his soul rest in peace) while describing both Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Dr Thokozani Khupe as mere leaders of rival factions within the MDC.

How then do you qualify the legality of the Gweru Congress which you apparently convened using the founding MDC Constitution?

DM : While there is no dispute in terms of the Constitutionality or lack thereof of the late Dr Morgan Tsvangirai’s appointment of extra Vice Presidents there is definitely a dispute on the practicality of the Supreme Court order because the Court clearly admitted that the issues were now moot and thus the ruling was now rendered mere academic as issues have been overtaken by events. So the actual Court order is the problem. It is not implementable.

HM : Are you implying that in this case your party chooses political correctness or expediency over Constitutionalism?

DM : Again let me say we promote Constitutionalism but it must also be pragmatic and practical. So in the context of the Supreme Court ruling our major worry is that the remedy is not a practical one.

HM : You referred to how at some point ZANU PF also had some splits and how these splinter groups contested eac other in the late 70s and early 80.

Have ZANU PF suddenly become a credible template for you to emulate by night ,yet you oppose them during the day?

DM : (Becoming emotional) You are deliberately choosing to listen to yourself instead of listening to my answer. My point was it is a historic fact that in 1976 ZANU PF had a dispute. Others chose to follow Ndabaningi Sithole while others followed Robert Mugabe. Even after independence people had to choose between ZANU PF and ZANU Ndonga.That was my point of reference. I meant that even ZANU PF has experienced splits before. Its not like we are copying ZANU PF as a credible template but I was just showing precedence.

I neither envy ZANU PF nor do I hold them as a credible political template.

HM : Mr Molokele you mentioned about a ZANU PF hand in the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Why do you always seem to see shadows by alleging an external hand , more so of your competitor in a pure case of internal power contestations within the MDC Alliance?

Facts show that you approached the Court on your own accord without outside inducement. How then do you accuse ZANU PF for your losing at the Court? Is this not cheap scapegoating on your part?

DM : We know for sure that ZANU PF is involved directly in this. Our intelligence gathered enough evidence to prove the active role of ZANU PF especially in funding and influencing the Court processes.

This is part of a propaganda war from those who had mistakenly calculated that the ruling would yield some Political dividends for them.

HM : Are your structures fully aware of the implications of this Court order considering that you may have to form a new party altogether, especially those who are sensationally circulating message of solidarity with your leader?

Are they aware that they are acting in contempt of the Supreme Court order?

DM : These are the realities we need to confront and focus our energy on. Millions of lives are at risk.

HM : What is the fate of your fellow party members who have chosen to abide by the ruling and are taking steps to implement it, the likes of Mr Morgan Komichi and Senator Douglas Mwonzora ?

DM : As things stand they are on their way out as they are deemed to have expelled themselves. Of course there are Constitutional processes that need to be followed to decide their fate but political their fate is sealed.

HM : Mr Molokele did you write a new Constitution for the MDC Alliance at the Gweru Congress? If so would you please share with us for reference purposes.

DM : The MDC as the body politic keeps evolving. Today we have a Constitution that is different from the original one from 1999.We keep on adapting to ever changing political realities on the ground. It is a classic case of political metamorphosis.

If you follow the party since 1999 we had a basic Constitution. Upon the first split in 2005 we had two factions both using the same constitution yet they were distinct parties one led by Prof Ncube the other by Dr Morgan Tsvangirai.

We had another split in 2013 and likewise had another third faction led by Tendai Biti using the same Constitution. So when Ms Khupe held her Congress in 2018 she was using the same Constitution but with amendments, not to mention that the same happened with us at Gweru in 2019.

So now we have the MDC Alliance Constitution which is premised on the original 1999 Constitution.

HM : Your leader Nelson Chamisa assumes Presidency the Alliance by virtue of him being leader of the MDC. If you lose the MDC Presidency as has already happened with this ruling how would he qualify to lead and direct the MDC Alliance?

DM : That point is not in dispute. But the Court ruling itself should have happened two years ago. Now a lot has happened in between and the practicality of the ruling is just impossible. It has been overtaken by events. One can not unscramble the egg.

HM : On that note may I take the opportunity to Express my gratitude to you for finding time for this very important interview. Please allow me to reach out to you in the future for more insights and clarifications.

DM : Its my pleasure. Please feel free at anytime.

END