MDC T had all the money and state support, but failed to form a quorum
By Alex T. Magaisa
- They had all the money from the State. They got the power to fire MPs & councillors. They grabbed the HQ with state support. They even had ZANU PF treatment with ZUPCO ferrying delegates & venue at Rainbow Towers. Yet with all this power & money, they couldn’t form a quorum.
- A quorum is the minimum number of people required for a valid meeting. The inquorate Congress requires another Congress to validate its decisions. But the mere fact that a political party is unable to summon enough people to form a quorum is a huge political embarrassment.
- But even then, they could not manage the small numbers. 3 candidates walked out, citing rigging. As if it wasn’t farcial already, Khupe claimed to have suspended her competitor, Mwonzora in the middle of the Congress, which was marred by despicable violence aimed at her. The judicially-reconstructed entity was a political error from the start. Khupe abandoned her party & was lured by the promise of power in a bigger entity. But the court does not command people. She must be the only one who didn’t see that she was a mere pawn in all this.
- When Mwonzora & Komichi returned after abandoning her in 2018, it was not because they had suddenly developed new affection for her. No, they had seen a gap after losing at the MDC Alliance. Khupe naively embraced them as allies without realising they were only after her crown
- Khupe became intoxicated with power, firing elected representatives & taking over their seats together with other unelectables. She didn’t care for the rights & interests of the affected. She approved as her SG Mwonzora wrote those letters. Now she’s reaping the grim harvest.
- It always pours for Komichi. When he ran for VP at the MDC Alliance he got several votes. Now he gets a miserly 9 votes. He can’t field a football team even if he’s a player-coach. With a paltry 14, Mudzuri would have 3 subs. If these chaps still have ambitions they’re deluded
- While they may claim irregularities, they have no hope of overturning the result given the gap. There will now be a flurry of litigation & perhaps another split but as one faction will soon discover it’s the one that the regime prefers that will prevail. It prefers the weakest
- Expect some skeletons to come tumbling out of the cupboards. And there are quite a few skeletons in those cupboards; the regime keeps them for moments like this when they become handy. They will be repackaged and some may soon find themselves as unwilling guests of the state.
- Unfortunately, because they relieved themselves in the village well, there will be no sympathy for them among members of the public. To avoid this circumstance they will have to fall at the feet of the regime, with a promise of obedient opposition.
- Perhaps an early test of who has power (& the regime’s favourite) is when the emerging factions write to Parliament to expel an MP. If both Mwonzora & Khupe write letters, the Speaker/Senate President will be called to decide which one to accept. (I’m not planting any ideas!)
- And so the circus enters a new chapter. Khupe & Komichi were fooled by the appearance of power after that order. Smarting from defeat at the MDC Alliance, Mwonzora saw an opening & he has wrestled the crown from Khupe who may decide it’s time go where she’s really liked…