AN MDC-T member has written to his newly appointed Acting President, Thokozani Khupe advising her that Douglas Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi should stop claiming to be senior party officials.
Tarisai Chikuvanganga argues that the two politicians who are also MDC Alliance senators cannot masquerade as MDC-T officials as they were automatically expelled from the party after contesting elections on Alliance tickets.
Mwonzora and Komichi, once high ranking members of the main opposition, are keen to restore their lofty statuses, following a Supreme Court ruling last week declaring Nelson Chamisa as illegitimate leader of MDC.
The judgment made Khupe the Acting President of the party and ordered her to organise an extraordinary congress using the MDC-T structures of 2014 within 90 days.
Taking advantage of the latest ruling, Mwonzora and Komichi also reinstated themselves as MDC-T secretary general and national chairperson respectively.
However, an aggrieved MDC-T member in Chakari, Chikuvanganga, has written to Khupe querying the claim by Mwonzora and Komichi that they now hold senior positions in the MDC breakaway party.
In the letter, he said the two automatically lost their membership when they joined the MDC Alliance and contested against MDC-T in the 2018 general election.
“In the same spirit of upholding the value of constitutionalism, I have learnt that there are some people who were leaders in our provincial and national structures, but by the dictates of the party constitution, have automatically lost their membership and must not continue to masquerade as leaders,” wrote Chikuvanganga to Khupe.
“Our party constitution which we are all compelled to defend is very clear on membership termination and expulsion.
“Article 5.10 (a) which provides for membership termination and expulsion provides as follows: Membership of the party shall be terminated (a) A member of the Party joins or supports a political party other than MDC (termination of membership in these circumstances shall be automatic).
“Leaders in the February 2018 national structures, the likes of Advocate Nelson Chamisa, Hon Senator Douglas Mwonzora, Hon Senator Morgen Komichi, Hon Happymore Chidziva, Hon Charlton Hwende and Hon (Lynnette) Kore among others joined and supported the MDC Alliance to the extent of campaigning and contesting against our party.
“The said individuals and many others including Madam Linda Masarira who formed her own political party automatically ceased to be members of the MDC-T.”
Chikuvanganga said he found it disturbing that Mwonzora and Komichi were now masquerading as leaders of the MDC-T and want to contest against Khupe at the extraordinary congress.
“It should be known that all those whose membership was automatically terminated in terms of the above quoted article of our party constitution cannot hold any office in the party and thus they should be told to re-apply for membership and wait for five years in order for them to qualify to hold office in the MDC-T,” he said.
“I am writing this with the special mentioning of Hon Senator Morgen Komichi and Hon Douglas Mwonzora who are now claiming to be in charge of our party when their membership was automatically terminated in terms of our Party constitution.
“I wish to take this opportunity to place it on notice that should they continue to masquerade as leaders of our Party, I will proceed to file an application in the High Court for an order that declare that by joining another political party, the said persons automatically lost their membership in the MDC-T.”
