by Tinotenda Mutasa

The MDC Alliance has been hit by potentially explosive divisions as its leader, Nelson Chamisa continues to dither on whether to embrace President Mnangagwa’s victory and work with Zanu PF, or continue with his hard-line stance that he will contest the outcome of the election.

Highly placed sources within the Alliance said the National Council meeting held at Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House yesterday was tense as the majority of executives present felt that Chamisa was holding them to ransom.

One source who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity disclosed that most of the senior members of the Alliance ,and original MDC-T members, especially those who were elected into Parliament are of the view that it is now time to move on and start getting their benefits.

Signs of rift first emerged soon after the confirmation of President Mnangagwa’s victory by the Constitutional Court on 22 August 2018. Following the pronouncement by the court, the MDC Alliance issued two “official” statements, one accepting the results and another refusing to accept same. Chamisa later came out doing damage control at press conference where he declared that his word on the matter was final and the Alliance was not accepting the ConCourt’s ruling.

Luke Tamborinyoka, who was displaced from the Presidential Spokesperson position by UK-based Nkululeko Sibanda, and is believed to have originated the acceptance statement, vented on Twitter saying “it was Lenin who believed that it may be necessary sometimes to embrace enemies and throw friends under the bus.”

According to the highly placed source, Chamisa’s iron fist control of the party has led other frustrated members to speak on various social media platforms calling for progress and a departure from the hardliner stance he prefers.

Deputy Treasurer General, Charlton Hwende was among the first to accept the ConCourt’s ruling saying “with a heavy heart, we must accept the decision by the Constitutional Court as a law abiding party. We pray for peace and unity in our country. We all have just one country, Zimbabwe. The people must have one vision and the people shall govern.”

He later added that “going forward, we must all sit down as Zimbabweans and find each other for the good of our country. We need political reforms to ensure that elections results are not contested and the will of the people is respected.”

At yesterday’s meeting, Chamisa loyal acolytes, Amos Chibaya and Job Sikhala are said to have attempted to move a motion to suspend Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora, who is perceived to be Chamisa’s greatest threat, but the majority of members present shot it down. More is expected in the coming weeks as Chamisa moves around the country in a series of the so-called “thank you rallies.”

Ends