The Zimbabwe Independent
By Phillip Pasirayi

TAKURA Zhangazha wrote an incisive piece entitled, “MDC: looking beyond leadership crisis”, (The Standard, October 21).

In his analysis of the political developments in the MDC, Zhangazha argues that the differences on whether the party must, or must not, participate in the senate elections are symptomatic of a serious departure by the leadership from the party’s founding principles and what he calls the creeping in of “political elitism” that feeds on patron-client networks.

Zhangazha argues: “Elitism has the tendency to emerge in a period where a party or an organisation becomes too comfortable with itself, and negates the principles upon which it was founded.

Morgan Tsvangirai gravely erred in allowing this sort of elitism to creep in, where a system of patronage about who participates in parliament or not becomes the order of the day. Or alternatively, where the “top six” begin to behave as though they were a Zanu PF presidium and in the process battle for control of as elite an organ as the National Council as if that is what the party was formed for.

There can be no analysis that surpasses the one the writer shares with us in trying to understand why over the years the MDC and its leadership have behaved in the manner they did. If the opposition party was still as consultative and as inclusive as it was from the onset, there was not going to be any problems such as the petty differences that its leadership shows at the moment.

Although I have argued in previous installments that differences and the essence of democratic discourse, especially in a big political party like the MDC are necessary, the way the MDC leadership is behaving is amateurish and to the best of my understanding, retrogressive.

The behaviour of the MDC so-called “Top Six” is no different from the way the Zanu PF politburo behaves. But the problem can be traced back to the MDC president who has forgotten the reason why the party was formed and has himself become too bureaucratic and elitist in his approaches and strategies.

The MDC is a civil society initiative, formed by the leadership of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the National Constitutional Assembly and the Zimbabwe National Students Union in consultation with the people of Zimbabwe.

Prior to its formation, teams were dispatched to the provinces, including areas such as Binga, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Mudzi, Nyazura, Chimanimani and Rutenga to consult with the people of Zimbabwe to speak on the Zimbabwe they want.

The template that was used in the consultation exercise had three questions: What is the current economic and political situation in Zimbabwe? What are the remedies to the situation? And how should the situation be resolved?

The process culminated in the production of a voluminous document – the “raw data”, that was used by the delegates at the All Working Peoples National Convention held under the theme “An Agenda for Action” in February 1999. It is this convention which gave birth to a political movement that we call the MDC today.

It is this history that we can use to explain why things have turned out the way they have in the main opposition party. The point that Zhangazha raises about political elitism in the MDC which is fashioned out in a manner reminiscent of Zanu PF politics is responsible for the cracks that are emerging in the opposition party.

Some of the most vocal members of the MDC who are creating confusion may need to be lectured on how the party was formed as some of them had been active in opposition politics and flirted with parties like the ruling Zanu PF, the Zimbabwe Unity Movement and the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD) where they failed to make an impact.

The late Learnmore Jongwe was sent to the University of Zimbabwe by Tsvangirai to talk to some of his lecturers in the Law School and other academics to come and join the party. Needles to say some of these former lecturers were used by the Zanu PF regime to silence and punish vocal student leaders who were opposed to the government.

The argument was that there was need to have a blend of activists and academics in the new party that was dominated by the ZCTU, Zinasu and the NCA.

Various emissaries were sent to talk to other bodies and constituent groups that had not been part of the initial processes that led to the formation of the MDC. Taking a cursory look at the MDC politics today, they resemble a completely divided movement, with the divisions taking tribal, regional and ideological lines.

We have heard talk about the existence of a faction of academics in the MDC – a faction said to be dovish in its approach to political challenges. It has been said that this group favours the courts and dialogue as opposed to street protests to resolve political disputes.

It has been claimed that Welshman Ncube, Innocent Gonese, Paul Themba Nyathi, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and David Coltart are the most notable members of this faction. On the other hand, there exists another faction led by activists that include Tsvangirai, Nelson Chamisa, Lucia Matibenga and Isaac Matongo.

Whilst factions are inevitable in a political party as big as the MDC, it is safe to claim that the ruling party has a hand in the factions emerging in the MDC. It is inadequate to talk of a group calling itself academics even though some of its members have just a two-year college diploma.

What is evident is that some MDC leaders have played squarely into the hands of Zanu PF intelligence functionaries by trying to be legalistic or academic as opposed to being revolutionary in their conduct. This is the reading that we get from the differences that ensued as a result of the impending senate election.

The MDC leader has left it too late to deal with these problems – some being of his own creation. There are reports of other people having been catapulted to top positions in the party through the help of Tsvangirai. In previous elections there have been reports of candidates being imposed by Tsvangirai and Matongo on the electorate.

After the death of Jongwe, there were efforts to bar Chamisa from standing as a candidate in Kuwadzana because the seat had been reserved for Murisi Zvizwai, himself a late-comer in the MDC politics but a close confidant of the MDC leader. Had it not been for a front page story in The Daily News that pre-empted Tsvangirai’s move, Chamisa would not be the legislator for Kuwadzana today.

Because of the persistence of patron-clientilism in the rank and file of the MDC, some current MPs have bought their way into parliament through sending birthday presents either to Tsvangirai or his wife Susan. Is not surprising that some of the people who are claiming that Tsvangirai is undemocratic are the very people who were handpicked by the same man and now hold influential positions in the party even without the approval of the party membership at the grassroots.

In all this process, some genuine founding fathers of the MDC have suffered because they either have no money to buy presents for their president or have no posh cars to drive the leader to meetings. Many people have suffered in this patronage system that the MDC leader has perpetuated.

When all the dust has settled, it is imperative that Tsvangirai reflects on the reason why the MDC was founded and why some of the founding fathers are now taking a back stage in the party. Names that immediately come to mind include one Mudhara Makuyana, known for his loyalty to the party since its inception but who was elbowed out of the race in Mbare during the March parliamentary polls because Gift Chimanikire, the deputy secretary-general who had lost in Mazowe in previous elections now wanted an easy ride.

The same happened in Mabvuku where many young and vibrant party activists were barred from contesting on behalf of the MDC because Timothy Mubhawu, who was at that time the chairman for Manicaland was in the race. The youths were warned against fighting Mubhawu because he had the blessing of Tsvangirai and both come from Buhera.

Unless the MDC reflects on its past mistakes and reverts to being a revolutionary party founded on the basis of entrenching social welfarism, then its future as an alternative party to Zanu PF is doomed.

The Herald

Herald Reporters – NINE out of the 12 MDC provinces have endorsed the forthcoming Senate elections by successfully filing nomination papers in 26 constituencies at the close of the nomination courts yesterday.

This has left the ruling Zanu-PF with 19 uncontested seats and its candidates automatically become Senators.

The remaining seats are being contested between Zanu-PF and independent candidates.

The opposition party defied its president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s calls to boycott the elections by fielding candidates in Harare, Chitungwiza, Masvingo, Mashonaland West, Midlands North and South, Matabeleland North and South and Bulawayo.

The MDC failed to nominate candidates in Mashonaland East, Central and Manicaland amid allegations of intimidation and violence against those who sought to lodge their papers with the nomination courts.

In Masvingo province two small opposition parties – Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance and the Peace for Action – fielded candidates in Masvingo and Chiredzi-Zaka constituencies.

The total number of MDC candidates came to 26 after another candidate, Mr Author Masimba Furamera, who wanted to stand in Chinhoyi, was disqualified for bringing inappropriate identity particulars. This means that the pro-participation lobby prevailed over Mr Tsvangirai by a margin of 52 percent to 48.

The nomination turnout mirrored the MDC national council’s vote of October 12 which stood at 33 to 31 votes in favour of taking part, translating to a 57 to 43 percent victory for the pro-participation camp led by secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube.

MDC spokesman Mr Paul Themba-Nyathi said the fact that nine out of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces – or nine out of the MDC’s 12 provinces – filed nomination papers means the many in the MDC are guided by democratic ideals and want to see their party adhering to its founding principles of free democratic expression.

Turning to Mr Tsvangirai’s calls for non-participation, Mr Themba-Nyathi said: “The president of the MDC holds a different view. He is very strong on that view and no one in the MDC seeks to take that view from him.

“He was, however, elected by congress to uphold and defend the constitution of the party and we have no doubt that he will discharge his duties accordingly.”

Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Mr William Bango, differed with the MDC spokesman, saying his boss’s position remained unchanged.

“Mr Tsvangirai believes that the position he raised two weeks ago still stands and anybody who filed nomination papers today did so as an independent. The traditional candidate selection procedures in the MDC were not followed with respect to those who submitted nomination papers, and these guys know it,” he added.

Legal experts said the MDC leader now faces a crisis of legitimacy after three-quarters of the provinces that elected him at congress refused to follow him, and actually exceeded the two-thirds majority vote needed to unseat him.

MDC secretary for legal affairs Mr David Coltart said the results of the nomination were self-evident.

He, however, refused to comment on what the party would do if Mr Tsvangirai attempts to victimise Senate candidates, saying he did not want to speculate on the matter.

Constitutional lawyer and chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly Dr Lovemore Madhuku said opposition candidates who filed papers had acted within their legal rights.

“On a strict interpretation of the law, MDC candidates were correct in filing nomination papers. Any analysis shows that legally the MDC voted to participate, (because) at law the decision of the national council constitutes the party’s decision.

“With a 52 percent defiance of Tsvangirai, the ball is now in his court to take a decisive decision and tell the nation who is in control in the MDC.

“Is it the faction he leads or the other one?”

Another Harare lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Tsvangirai’s decision to go against a constitutionally binding vote invites a no-confidence motion in his leadership,

“Within the structures of the MDC, one can see that there is a body that makes decisions on whether or not to participate. That decision is not the preserve of the president of the party. When that decision is taken, it should be adhered to.

“Those who filed nomination papers are the ones who are complying with the constitution. Tsvangirai’s actions only serve to invite a vote of no confidence in his leadership.”

Article 10 of the MDC constitution that deals with disciplinary matters empowers the disciplinary committee, under subsection 10.5, to frame, enquire, charge, reprimand, fine, suspend and expel members who have been found guilty of:

“(a) A wilful breach of any of the provisions of this Constitution and any regulations made in terms hereof; and/or

(b) Conduct unbecoming and prejudicial to the interests or reputation of the Party and the objects and purposes for which it stands and/or conduct which may bring the Party into disrepute.”

According to the strongly worded reprimand-cum-charge sheet issued against Mr Tsvangirai by the chairman of his party’s disciplinary committee, MDC vice president Mr Gibson Sibanda, last week, the opposition leader “wilfully violated the constitution of the MDC and breached its provisions”.

Mr Tsvangirai is also accused of violating section 4.4 that requires every member to accept and conform to the constitution; paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 6.1.1 that vests the duty to uphold and defend the constitution in the party president; and section 6.1.2 that requires him to act as a spokesman on major policy issues but bars him from acting or doing anything contrary to the party’s principles.

The Daily Telegraph
18th Oct 2005
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare

A Zimbabwe judge has confirmed that President Robert Mugabe’s henchmen bought over opposition members with food in the March general election and threatened hungry peasants with starvation if they failed to back his ruling Zanu PF party.

“It was made clear to the villagers that supporting the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) meant going without food,” said High Court Judge Rita Makarau in a written judgment on the election process in Makoni North, a rural constituency, 80 miles south-east of Harare.

The judge quoted the “sad example” of one villager attending a public meeting exchanging his MDC T-shirt for a bag of food. “The other MDC members were then invited to do likewise if they wanted the food hand-outs,” the judge said.

Judge Makarau said Zanu PF village leaders and veterans of Mr Mugabe’s forces during the war for independence had used food to manipulate local voters. Journalists and human rights monitors reported that rural Zimbabweans were refused permission to buy grain from the only legal cereals trader, the government’s Grain Marketing Board, in the run up to the March election, in which Zanu PF won 78 of 120 seats. But Judge Makarau’s judgment is the first time that anyone in Mr Mugabe’s administration has admitted that food has been used as a political weapon.

Nathan Shamuyarira, the Zanu PF spokesman, said: “I can’t comment because I haven’t seen the judgment.”

The MDC challenged the election results in Makoni North but Judge Makarau refused to overturn the results saying it was unclear if the food-for-votes campaign was authorised by Mr Mugabe or local agents.

David Coltart, the legal secretary for the MDC, said the judgment on the facts was fair. “It was disappointing that having found that food was used as a political weapon she then failed to find this had a material effect on the result.”

Six months before the election Mr Mugabe stopped food distribution except to targeted groups such as orphans and those with HIV Aids, and claimed a record maize crop was grown the previous summer. He said Zimbabweans would “choke” if they were given any more food.

Details of domestic grain reserves, or lack of them, are an unofficial state secret and not even the UN can find out whether Zimbabwe has any food in storage. Last weekend up to 80 people armed with spears and axes launched a series of potato raids on several farms near the capital, injuring security guards and killing five dogs, the state’s Herald newspaper reported yesterday.

The UN’s World Food Programme is due to begin feeding up to four million hungry Zimbabweans, or a third of the population, at the end of this month. Mr Mugabe told Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, in New York last month that traditional leaders, who are civil servants, should distribute food and not non-governmental organisations.

“What we do not want is for the UN to give grain to NGOs so they make politics out of it,” Mr Mugabe reportedly told Mr Annan.

SW Radio Africa
By Violet Gonda

Despite serious objections from the MDC, ZANU PF steamrollered another repressive bill through its first two readings in parliament. The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill has been described as the greatest challenge yet to Zimbabweans’ liberties. The two sides locked horns in parliament this week in a debate on the bill that passed the committee stage on Thursday. The proposed bill seeks to reintroduce a Senate and prevent legal challenges to land acquisition by the government. The bill would also give government the powers to take passports from individuals deemed to be engaging in activities that jeopardise national interest.

MDC Legal Secretary David Coltart said the third and final debate is going to be on Tuesday where all ZANU PF MPs are expected in parliament. He said the ruling party will need a 100 person affirmative vote to pass this draconian bill.

The key issues at stake:

The MDC is opposed to the idea of a Senate arguing that all the 66 senators should be duly elected on the basis of proportional representation to ensure that all sectors of society are adequately represented. This draft would give the President the right to appoint 6 senators would seriously compromise the democratic process.

The other area of concern is that the Minister can decide to take any lands he wants and remove the right to challenge the acquisition of land in the courts. If passed into law, the legislation will effectively take away the powers of the courts to decide on the fairness to acquisition of property and this provision can be used on any race or tribe. David Coltart said, “The ZANU PF amendments combine to form the greatest assaults on our human rights since independence in 1980.”

There is also a provision that seeks to take away the rights of Zimbabweans to travel, a grave assault on a fundamental freedom.

He also said there was no full debate and national consensus on the bill saying Zimbabweans right across the country do not know about the amendments. He said the MDC had tabled its own amendments in the form of a new constitution for Zimbabwe Wednesday, based on what people said in 1999 and 2000, saying it was clear that the Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa wasn’t going to consider any other amendments. The MDC later withdrew its amendments.

The Legal Secretary said the opposition had submitted this new constitution as a matter of public record so that the public can see that the MDC is serious about meaningful constitutional reform.

He said, “The ZANU PF amendments combine to form the greatest assaults on our human rights since independence in 1980. If passed into law, the legislation will effectively take away the powers of the courts to decide on the fairness to acquisition of property. And this provision can be used on any race or tribe.”

David Coltart said these are indications of how terrified this regime is of its own people.

University of New South Wales

Zimbabwe’s Shadow Justice Minister, David Coltart, has called for Australia’s help to indict President Robert Mugabe for crimes against humanity. He warned that without international intervention, the current demolition campaign in Zimbabwe could turn to genocide.

Mr Coltart was speaking at a briefing hosted by the Australian Human Rights Centre in the Faculty of Law.

The former human rights lawyer was elected to Zimbabwe’s parliament in June 2000, representing the Bulawayo South constituency for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the country’s main opposition party.

Mr Coltart told the audience that more than 300,000 people have been left homeless since the Government started it campaign to demolish urban shantytowns. “What has happened since May 19 is a crime against humanity. Under Article 7 of the Treaty of Rome, this is an unlawful transfer of a population.”

These latest atrocities follow the March general election in Zimbabwe in which the MDC secured all but one of the urban seats, “the first meaningful challenge to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party”,” Mr Coltart said.

He said Australia could help lobby for a UN resolution authorising the International Criminal Court to prosecute the regime. “Australia has a unique role to play. It was at the vanguard of the struggle against apartheid and has moral authority in Africa. It could also use its influence in the Asia Pacific region to help gather support.”

Mr Coltart said ‘Operation Clean-Up’ has pushed Zimbabwe to the brink of a humanitarian crisis. “We are afflicted by one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS and more than four million people are in need of food aid.”

He also described the collapse of the rule of law. “Since 2000, there has been a systematic campaign to subvert the judiciary and the Supreme Court has been turned on its head.”

Mr Coltart has campaigned for decades to advance human rights in Zimbabwe and throughout the region. He is in Australia as part of the Bond University/Baker & McKenzie Distinguished Visitors Program and will deliver the Gerard Brennan Lecture, entitled ‘The erosion of law in Zimbabwe’, at Bond University this week.