RECENTLY appointed MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere says the party’s leader Nelson Chamisa has a clear strategy for defeating the Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi camp despite having suffered various setbacks of late.
Khupe, tthe interim president of the original MDC founded by Morgan Tsvangirai, recently stormed the Harvest House building and threw the Chamsia camp out of what the Alliance insist are its legitimate headquarters.
Chamisa aalso faced humiliation when legislators snubbed his call for Parliament boycott, while key opposition figures such as Dr Tapiwa Mashakada, Paurina Gwanyanya-Mpariwa and Job Sikhala have been reported to be keen on joining the Douglas Mwonzora camp.
Despite all the gloom in the Chamisa camp, Mahere put up a brave face in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent.
“We have a clear strategy to defeat all rivals including fellow opposition parties who are being used by Emmerson Mnangagwa to cause chaos.
“Our strategy has always been to go back the people who expressed their will overwhelmingly in the 2018 elections,” Mahere said.
She added that for the party supporters who have been clamouring for a so-called “signal” from Chamisa to take to the streets, the strategy was being worked on.
“The right to peaceful protest, peaceful demonstration and resistance is constitutionally protected. The movement will adopt this among many other strategies to fight the system.
“What is critical is that a broad church of actors that comprises all Zimbabweans including the church, civil society, trade unions, the student movement, business, artists and every sector of society joins hands in the fight. We all want to see Zimbabwe rise from the ashes.”
The top Harare lawyer, who contested as an independent for a Mt. Pleasant seat in 2018 and came third behind MDC Alliance and Zanu-PF candidates, said she will continue exposing bad governance by the ruling party.
“We will continue to fight this battle on every conceivable front. We will continue to remind Zimbabweans that this is not a fight for the MDC-Alliance but it is a fight for freedom.
“Democracy is on trial and what we see is a battle for the soul of the nation. We all have a duty to be engaged, to ask, to speak and to act.
“It cannot be a crime to speak truth to power. It cannot be a crime to hold the government to account. It cannot be a crime to complain that one is hungry.
“We will not stop talking about the daily struggles that Zimbabweans face as the nation continues in a state of crisis as a result of the bad governance caused by our political elites,” she said.
She insists the boycott of Parliament worked in her party’s favour.
“It (the boycott) was effective because it gave us an opportunity to engage our constituents and grassroots and hear what their views are on what is transpiring in Parliament and how they want us to respond. It is important for party leaders not to act unilaterally.
“It is important for us to send a clear message to Parliament, to the MDC-T and to all Zimbabweans that we are bound by the will of the people.
“The people voted for the MDC-Alliance as led by president Chamisa.
“Nobody has the prerogative to alter that mandate and give MDC-Alliance votes to a different party. Political parties are not made in courtrooms or through violent army takeovers.
“Political power comes from the people. It is imperative that we drive that message home over and over.”
Chamisa faces more political turmoil ahead, amid indications that the Khupe camp is preparing a bid led by constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku to stop Chamisa from using the MDC brand in any form.
The development, if successful, could mean Chamisa will be left with no choice but to start a new political brand altogether. – Zimbabwe Voice
