Chaos rocks MDC-T meeting

By The NewsDay | Jul. 28, 2016 | 2 Min read

An MDC-T standing committee meeting lasted less than 15 minutes yesterday after some members strongly protested the presence of newly-appointed deputy presidents, Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri, it has been learnt.

By Staff Reporter

The meeting, sources said, was disrupted as party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai gave his opening remarks, as the fallout over the appointment of the two deputies rages.

“The meeting lasted less than 15 minutes,” one source said. “Tsvangirai was interjected and asked about the constitutionality of the two appointments.”

The source said members protested over the presence of the two, saying they could not attend the standing committee’s meetings as they were unelected.

“In response, Tsvangirai said the two were observers he had invited for the meeting, but it was suggested they should sit away from the table and follow proceedings from a distance,” the source said, adding the MDC-T leader rejected that suggestion, leading to a breakdown of the meeting.

A meeting set for tomorrow has since been cancelled following the melee, while a court application is expected to be filed today seeking to block Chamisa and Mudzuri’s assumption of duty as deputies.

In a statement, however, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka said Mudzuri and Chamisa had been welcomed by the party’s standing committee.

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“Chamisa and Mudzuri were part of the new-look standing committee that met in Harare today. The two VPs were given a warm welcome by the other members of the committee, which had a full attendance,” he said.

“Tsvangirai also advised that the national executive committee and the national council will convene again in the next few days and one of the key businesses will be to tie up the constitutional amendments adopted by the fourth congress in Harare in 2014.”

Efforts to get a comment from party spokesman, Obert Gutu were fruitless yesterday.