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AMHVoices: MDC Alliance’s assets are proceeds of crime

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SOMETIME in 2017, MDC founding leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai, on behalf of the MDC-T, signed a co-operation agreement with six fringe parties to face Zanu PF as an alliance under the leadership of MDC-T.

SOMETIME in 2017, MDC founding leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai, on behalf of the MDC-T, signed a co-operation agreement with six fringe parties to face Zanu PF as an alliance under the leadership of MDC-T.

By O Gutu, Our Reader

The agreement was clear that at all times, the MDC-T as the umbrella party, will provide a leader to the alliance.

The alliance’s lifespan was up to the end of the 2018 elections. Win or no win, each party would revert to its roots, but would govern as an alliance in the event of an unlikely win. Before the elections, in February of 2018, Tsvangirai passed on, leading to a leadership tussle, pitting the three vice-presidents — Thokozani Khupe, Elias Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa.

Of the three, only Khupe had been elected at the 2014 congress. The other two had been imposed unconstitutionally by the late Tsvangirai, so neither of the them outside an extra-ordinary congress had a right to claim the leadership of the party.

But through violence, treachery, aided by Morgen Komichi, Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, Chamisa went on to claim the leadership of the MDC-T. The leadership of the MDC-T gave Chamisa access to the following assets:

Harvest House and properties dotted around the country.

Tsvangirai’s goodwill and party logo.

Leadership of the alliance.

Funds disbursed by Treasury just before the elections.

The disbursed funds were in the name of MDC-T because it was the MDC-T that had members in Parliament, not the alliance. The alliance was just a vehicle the seven parties chose to use for the purpose of the election.

In terms of the signed agreement, each party remained responsible for each member deployed to the alliance and logically, even if elected, the sponsoring party still retained that power to recall in the event of any misdemeanour by a member.

It is, therefore, unwise for Chamisa, secretary-general Chalton Hwende or any member that was sponsored by MDC-T to get comfort in self-serving, self-preservation arguments by Biti and Ncube, the two vice-presidents of the now so-called MDC Alliance have everything to lose in the event of the inevitable that is the collapse of the alliance.

So to preserve their political careers which are on the line, any line no matter how illogical, the two will go on top of a hill and try and convince everyone that their interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment is correct.

All members in the National Assembly and local authorities and were sponsored or seconded to the alliance by MDC-T are now answerable to Khupe. At law one does not get to keep proceeds of crime, proceeds of crime are forfeited to the State, but in this case, they all revert to Khupe, the victim of an illegal takeover of MDC-T, whose assets were used to build MDC Alliance.

In simple language, the alliance is creature of crime and, at law, outside Khupe, it cannot exist in its current form. All assets acquired by Chamisa or the so-called alliance through deceit automatically revert to Khupe, it is that simple.

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (formerly Harvest House), the MDC-T headquarters, party symbols and all members seconded to the alliance, including the leadership of the alliance, now belong to the MDC-T led by Khupe.

And most importantly, the judgment said Chamisa was not the rightful deployee to the alliance. This, therefore, means his participation in the election is null and void, the numbers he got now count to nothing.

Chamisa will actually be in contempt should he try and mobilise people to do anything on the basis of the votes he got or even in the name of the alliance before reorganisation of same. Whatever happened at the Gweru May 2019 congress is null and void.

The issue is not about populism, but constitutionalism and rule of law. Talking about rule of law, though it is totally wrong, Hwende speaking on behalf of Chamisa made it clear that the MDC-T Alliance is not associated with MDC-T.

Hwende, if you are not MDC-T or had no association with MDC-T going into the 2018 election, why did your party receive and use the money that was meant for MDC-T from Treasury? What are you doing at the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House and why do you continue to use MDC-T party symbols and abusing the name of Tsvangirai for your benefit?

In conclusion then, we can only say you stole public money purporting to be MDC-T when you are not. That is a serious misrepresentation. Is that the case, Mr Hwende?

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