MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti has called on the rival MDC-T led by Thokozani Khupe to stick to its name which it used to contest the 2018 election and stop attempts to bully the former’s party to drop its own name.
Biti was adamant Khupe and her allies should understand issues to do with intellectual property.
“On the 31st of July 2018, there was a political party called the MDC Alliance led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa that participated in that election,” Biti said.
“On the same day, there was another political party called the MDC-T led by Thokozani Khupe.
“She absolutely knows nothing about intellectual property and I suggest that she keeps her mouth shut.”
Recently, Khupe’s spokesperson Khalipani Phugeni told the media that the Chamisa led faction was infringing on their rights by using the name MDC Alliance.
“They are infringing our rights using the name MDC Alliance,” he said then.
“We are going to assert our rights on the name very soon. The MDC Alliance is a pact that we entered into with seven other political parties and as MDC-T, we are the major partner in that agreement and those using that name are violating our rights.”
The bid to stop Chamisa from using the name MDC Alliance is also being spearheaded by Khupe’s staunch supporter Divine Mafa who said he will soon approach the High Court to seek interdict.
“By filing this lawsuit, I would have done my part to add to democracy and help to protect the poor and weak,” Mafa told this publication.
“I have decided to file a lawsuit to challenge use of the party name in any other form by anyone including Chamisa’s Alliance.”
Khupe’s faction seems to have moral support from Presidential spokesperson George Charamba who posted on social media recently that Chamisa would soon be left without the name MDC Alliance. – Newzim
