BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA/RICHARD MUPONDE
MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora has appointed rivals Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri, who have been challenging his electoral victory at the extraordinary congress held at the weekend, as his vice presidents.
Mwonzora made the announcement yesterday at the party headquarters, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House, yesterday where he also elevated former deputy secretary general Paurina Mpariwa to his former secretary-general post and losing presidential candidate Morgan Komichi as substantive chairman.
Other notable appointments included youth assembly leader Shakespeare Mukoyi to secretary for security, Tapiwa Mashakada as treasurer general and Witness Dube as party spokesperson deputised by Kaliphani Phugeni.
Mwonzora advised Khupe and the duo of Mudzuri and Komichi to desist from approaching the courts to challenge the outcome of the insisting as there was a slim chance of success.
“We have a legal opinion from party lawyer Madhuku who represented us in all our cases and the legal opinion has settled everything as far as the Sunday congress is concerned,” Mwonzora said.
“But if people want to, they are free to go to the courts but as a lawyer myself I have confidence that such a challenge will not succeed.”
The MDC –T constitution has provision for only one vice president. In 2016, Mwonzora funded a party member, Partson Murimoga to challenge the late founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s appointment of Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa as vice-presidents.
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Khupe has been disputing Mwonzora’s victory at the violence marred congress and alleged that she was manhandled.
She has already submitted an affidavit to the police supporting Murimoga who has reported Mwonzora to the police for fraud after $6 million was unprocedurally withdrawn from the party accounts.
But Mwonzora urged Khupe, Mudzuri and Komichi to sober up and work to unite the party.
“It’s not in our nature to be retributive. I know a lot has been said. It’s out of anger. I guess I am a frustrating opponent that provokes anger and when she sobers up, she (Khupe) has to know that she has an enormous responsibility upon her shoulders to work and unite the party,” he said.
Mwonzora also condemned the assault of Khupe and said investigations have been instituted to bring the culprits to book.
“We saw a clip that shows Dr Khupe being slapped. We condemn such behaviour. We have instructed our security department to identify the culprits with the help of Rainbow Towers Hotel officials to bring them to book. If that person or people are caught, they must be dealt with harshly,” Mwonzora said.
“We are also aware of a slur which was directed at her. There’s no room for hate in the party. We don’t condone sexism, tribalism and regionalism. We have to unite the party in a formidable change agent.
“We have to strengthen it through tolerance, we want to rebuild the party, rebuild the entire opposition and we will engage our brothers (in reference to MDC Alliance).”
Meanwhile, Khupe has suffered a huge blow after party lawyer Lovemore Madhuku advised her to recognise Mwonzora as the substantive party president.
Mwonzora pulled 883 votes against Khupe’s 118, but she has refused to recognise the result saying the election was rigged.
Madhuku in a legal opinion to the party advised Khupe, Mudzuri and Komichi that Mwonzora was the duly elected MDC-T leader unless the election was set aside by a competent court.
“There are only two ways in which voting could have been stopped either by a decision of the independent electoral body itself based on objectively verifiable reasons or by order of a competent court,” Madhuku wrote.
“As the voting process could not have been stopped by the acting president (given the conflict of interest), at law, the voting at the extra ordinary congress on December 27 was never stopped.”
“Because the voting was never stopped at law, the results announced by the independent electoral body are presumed to be valid. They enjoy a presumption of validity,” reads part of the court papers.
“This presumption of validity means that unless set aside by a competent court Douglas Mwonzora is duly elected as president.”
