THE newly reinstated MDC-T national organising secretary, Abednico Bhebhe is against the party holding an extraordinary congress to elect a new president to replace the late founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Bhebhe strongly believes the two warring MDC factions of Nelson Chamisa and Thokozani Khupe can still smoke the peace pipe and find each other.
Two weeks ago, Supreme Court judges, Bharat Patel, Paddington Garwe and Antonia Guvava declared Chamisa’s rise to the helm of the main opposition violated the party’s constitution. The court ruled that Khupe should be acting president as the party seeks a new substantive leader.
The apex court then ordered Khupe to organise an extraordinary congress within three months to elect a new leader using the 2014 party structures.
Bhebhe was the party’s national organising secretary during the said period and was responsible for running the party’s structures across the country.
However, the seasoned politician believes the Supreme Court judgment benefited the ruling party, Zanu PF not the MDC and the pending extra-ordinary congress should be shelved. Instead, Bhebhe wants Khupe and Chamisa to sit down and iron out their differences.
“The current situation plays well into the hands of Zanu PF. Zanu PF always thrives on a divided opposition. In my view, the best way to solve this political impasse is for the two warring MDC factions to sit down and dialogue. The party needs to re-unite itself and be strong like what it was when it was formed in 1999,” Bhebhe told NewZimbabwe.com in an interview.
He said while the 2014 MDC-T structures may be resuscitated, a lot of changes had happened since that period.
“It may be possible to organise the congress using the 2014 structures because the records of the structures are still there, but why not give dialogue a chance. We should avoid playing into the hands of Zanu PF,” said Bhebhe.
He stressed that the issue of activating the old structures was also not an individual responsibility as other senior party officials including the chairperson, secretary-general, elections directorate, youth and women’s assemblies should be involved.
“Yes, I was the organising secretary but remember that office is an organ of the party. All organs of the party are responsible for mobilising the structures if there is need for a congress,” said Bhebhe.
So far only two senior officials of the MDC-T’s 2014 National Standing Committee, Morgen Komichi, and Douglas Mwonzora have shown interest in joining the party‘s Acting president Thokozani Khupe towards holding the extraordinary congress.
Komichi has since reclaimed his former position of national chairperson while Mwonzora has reverted back to be the secretary-general. However, attempts to seize the party from Chamisa are being fiercely resisted by the politician’s allies. – Newzim
