by Charles Motsi
After facing an embarrassing and crushing defeat at the MDC-T National Congress in 2014 it is only understandable that MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, is having nightmares when it comes to the upcoming party congress that has been billed to take part in the next five months.
At the 2014 congress Chamisa was surprised to emerge the loser behind the current party Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora, despite the overwhelming support he seemed to have before the congress and during the nomination period. One cannot help but be reminded of what happened in the 2018 Presidential elections, but we will get to that later.
The signs are already there that the opposition leader is unsettled ahead of the proposed congress. Only last Tuesday, he made sweeping controversial appointments which are meant to place him in the best possible position against any rival wishing to challenge him. Seeing that the most prominent and likely contender is the same man who defeated him in 2014, this surely is cause for concern for the embattled president.
Chamisa elevated his long-time friend, ally and homeboy from Masvingo, Morgan Komichi to the post of Vice President and similarly made MDC president, Professor Welshman Ncube, the other VP. The two join Elias Mudzuri in Chamisa’s trio of deputies. The new VPs were carefully chosen to neutralise the secretary general, Mwonzora, in the hierarchy of the party.
Ncube’s appointment served a dual purpose as it extended Chamisa’s reach and influence in Matabeleland while also ensuring he bribes Ncube for using the MDC name which legally belonged to Ncube’s faction.
The two VP appointments were not universally welcomed as most within the MDC (Chamisa faction) thought Ncube should not have been rewarded by such a high level post upon readmission into the party he deserted in 2005. However, Chamisa had no option but to make the deal with Ncube which would place him in a favourable position come congress time. This move might, however, explode in his face because Ncube is no longer as popular as he used to be in the Matabeleland region.
The 2014 congressional election is not the only reason why Chamisa does not want to hear the word election. The opposition leader was the National Organising Secretary in charge of elections mobilisation when his party was humiliated by Zanu PF in the 2013 harmonised election. The only excuse that he could come up with for the loss was to blame a company that no one had ever heard of (NIKUV) for some unspecified rigging claims he could not prove.
Early this year Chamisa had to grab power after the death of his iconic mentor, Morgan Tsvangirai, because he could not risk going to congress and place himself at the mercy of party voters. Eventually, using the party’s youth militia, the Vanguard, Chamisa muscled himself to the echelons of power and successfully avoided the dreaded election process.
Coming to the recently held harmonised election, just like in the 2013 elections, the rebranded and united MDC Alliance was again humiliated by Zanu PF. True to form Chamisa could not take responsibility for his failure, choosing again to blame phantom rigging tactics. Even after the country’s supreme legal body made it clear that he had lost, the guy shamefully remains defiant and stubborn as he maintains that he won the election and he alone has proof of his imaginary victory.
The MDC leader’s election-phobia is nothing new and it surely keeps him awake at night because another failed election would probably place him in a coma. We are certainly going to see more antics to solidify his grip to remain in power before the said election takes place as the MDC leader cannot afford to leave it all to chance in light of his past election experience.
