MDC’s reinstated Secretary-General Douglas Mwonzora is on a collision path with the similarly reinstated party interim president Thokozani Khupe after he blasted the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) in which Khupe has a prominent role.
The POLAD was initiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in May 2019 to bring together the top political figureheads to a decision-sharing platform, and Khupe joined in as leader of the MDC-T.
Mwonzora, who was MDC Alliance deputy secretary for international relations before a Supreme Court ruling delivered on Tuesday that nullified MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa’s appointment as the opposition leader, also told a local media outlet that he had no respect for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s human rights record and the way he was handling his dialogue processes under POLAD.
“I have no respect for the way this government is carrying on its governance of this country,” Mwonzora said.
“I don’t agree with President Mnangagwa at all. I don’t agree with his human rights record. I don’t agree with the way he is carrying on his political dialogue, the Polad and so on.
“What I think is in the best interest of Zimbabwe is to have genuine dialogue before a neutral arbiter.”
His position, however, will likely set him against Khupe, Mnangagwa’s key ally in POLAD.
In POLAD, Khupe is tasked with pushing the international community to remove sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, particularly by the United States and her allies.
Mwonzora accused MDC vice-presidents Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube of leading Chamisa astray as they do not qualify to stand for posts at the proposed congress set in three months.
He also attacked exiled former Cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo, saying given his record in government and history of fighting the MDC, he could not preach democracy to the opposition party.
Mwonzora said if Chamisa subjected himself to the congress, he stood a good chance of winning the party leadership. – Zimbabwe Voice
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