by Christopher Makaza.
MDC bigwigs in the Nelson Chamisa-led faction have expressed concern over the continued loss of MDC court cases by the opposition party`s top lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu.
A source within the MDC who is also Mr Chamisa’s confidante said the faction’s big shots have lost confidence in the party`s long time attorney following successive losses in legal battles that Advocate Mpofu has been handling.
Mpofu recently lost a High Court case in which he represented Ecocash. The High Court threw away an application by EcoCash for the restoration of thousands of agent lines terminated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for suspected illegal forex trading.
Advocate Mpofu came to fame when he unsuccessfully represented Chamisa in the historic 2018 Constitutional Court election petition challenging the presidential election results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in which he lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The Constitutional Court went on to endorse ZEC’s results and dismiss Chamisa’s challenge after Advocate Mpofu failed to produce credible evidence to support the rigging allegations.
“MDC members who happen to be legal gurus themselves, the likes of David Coltart, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Job Sikhala have lost confidence in Mpofu arguing that the opposition party continues to lose court cases because of poor legal representation. These top leaders told Chamisa that it was high time he engages human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa in high profile cases.
“As you are aware, Chamisa lost two high profile cases which were handled by Advocate Mpofu and Silvester Hashiti. It is this worrying trend that has forced the top leadership to propose dumping Mpofu for Mtetwa,” said the contact.
“Mtetwa was being suggested as the new legal defender of the opposition outfit on the basis of her record of winning cases effortlessly. She won the case she represented (Job) Sikhala who was facing subversion charges for threatening to remove (President) Mnangagwa from office before 2023. She has provided cutting-edge legal services to journalists and human rights defenders triumphantly,” said the contact.
The contact further revealed that Sikhala recently blocked Mpofu from representing the three party female activists, Johana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova who are facing charges of participating in an unsanctioned protest during the Covid-19 lockdown. Sikhala according to the contact argued that “the girls vanonyura vakamiririrwa naMpofu.” The contact said Sikhala opted for lawyer Jeremiah Bhamu to represent the three.
Meanwhile, some MDC officials have written an open letter to Adv Mpofu accusing him, as the Chairman of the Alliance’s Integrity and Accountability panel, of failing to spearhead investigations into disappearance of party funds. According to the letter which is circulating on social media, Chamisa and former MDC Secretary General Chalton Hwende are the alleged culprits behind the disappearance of thousands of United States dollars from the party coffers.
Adv Mpofu is also being accused of failing to probe MDC councillors and legislators who are involved in corrupt activities in urban authorities especially on the issue of land allocation.
Some political analysts say Adv Mpofu`s first failure was not to advise Chamisa that the route he took to assume presidency was illegal which brings suspicion that Adv Mpofu is not sincere in his dealings with the opposition outfit, as he is out to make a quick buck.
