MASVINGO — Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, the leader of an MDC offshoot, has his political career hanging by a thread after the party national council passed a vote of no confidence against him, demanding that he be recalled from his government post.
By Tatenda Chitagu
In a clear coup, the national council also demands the withdrawal of the court case against Welshman Ncube, who heads another MDC formation, who is in a leadership wrangle with Mutambara.
In a Press statement, MDC-M, as Mutambara’s grouping is known, through national organising secretary Rabson Mashiri, reportedly the DPM’s most trusted lieutenant, said they resolved not to recognise the robotics professor as party president anymore.
“MDC-M national council passed a vote of no confidence against Arthur Mutambara, hence he be recalled from the DPM post,” reads the statement.
“The national council resolved that the national chair acts as the leader of the party until after congress. The party will forge an alliance with other democratic forces for elections.”
The resolutions were reached last Saturday, when the national council met in Harare.
In a tacit admission that the group is now backing Ncube, Mutambara’s national council resolved to drop the court case against him.
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Ncube and Mutambara’s leadership wrangles spilled into the courts after the latter refused to accept defeat at the party’s national congress held last year.
“The court case against the Prof Welsh Ncube-led MDC be withdrawn unconditionally and immediately for us to focus on party building and the election campaign,” the statement read.
The national council also resolved to dismiss party MPs who defected to the MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. “The MPs who defected to the MDC-T are automatically dismissed from the party,” the party said, as it resolved to engage other parties in the formation of a coalition.
“The national organising secretary should engage other parties for a possible working relationship or memorandum of understanding,” read the resolutions.
Contacted for a comment, Mutambara dismissed the resolutions as “rubbish”. “Just ignore it — that is rubbish,” he said, before terminating the telephone conversation.
