THE MDC-T leadership wrangle took another twist yesterday when party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his faction summarily expelled secretary-general Tendai Biti and eight other Members of Parliament who staged a “boardroom coup” over the weekend.
By Paidamoyo Muzulu Senior Reporter
The MDC-T said the latest internal fissures had forced it to hold an early congress in October this year instead of 2016 as initially planned.
The Tsvangirai faction made the decision at its parallel national council meeting at Harvest House party headquarters in Harare barely 72 hours after the Biti faction “suspended” Tsvangirai and six other national standing committee members for allegedly breaching the party’s constitution.
Addressing journalists at Harvest House, party chairman Lovemore Moyo said Biti and his team had been expelled after the national council unanimously voted for their ouster.
“We deliberated on Article 12 of the party’s constitution to expel the secretary-general of the party and eight others. In a secret ballot by the 167 delegates, 162 voted yes and there were five abstentions. Therefore, the resolution by the national council is hereby adopted to expel the former secretary-general Biti,” Moyo said.
Addressing the same Press conference, Tsvangirai said his faction was going to write to Parliament to withdraw the nine MPs.
Tsvangirai said: “Consequently, in line with section 129(1) (k) of the national constitution, the MDC (T) MPs who participated at the Mandel meeting will be withdrawn from Parliament. For the avoidance of doubt, the members being withdrawn are: Tendai Biti (Harare East), Solomon Madzore (Dzivaresekwa), Paul Madzore (Glen View South), Moses Manyengavana (Highfield West), Willas Madzimure (Kambuzuma), Samuel Sipepa Nkomo (Lobengula), Bekithemba Nyathi (Pelandaba-Mpopoma), Evelyn Masaiti (Proportional Representation), Watchy Sibanda (Senator Matabeleland South), Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo) and Reggie Moyo (Luveve).” The MDC-T has 70 MPs in the National Assembly and 21 Senators in the Upper House.
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The withdrawal of the nine from Parliament is likely to spill into the courts as the Biti faction on Monday took a pre-emptive approach and wrote to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda seeking protection of legislators in his faction.
“In any event the MDC national council on Saturday April 26 2014 suspended Tsvangirai and his accomplices and placed the party under the curatorship of the Guardian Council,” Biti wrote.
“Thus anyone from this faction purporting to act on behalf of the party will have to seek a court order to reverse the legitimate council decision of Saturday April 26 2014.”
The MDC-T leadership fights exploded in February when deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma wrote to Tsvangirai calling on him to step down accusing him of failing to dislodge Zanu PF’s President Robert Mugabe in three successive elections.
