Tsvangirai faction dismisses pro-senate congress and the significance of Mutambara’s return

By Tererai Karimakwenda
27 February 2006

The MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed the congress held in Bulawayo this weekend by the pro-senate group as just a private meeting of individuals who do not represent the MDC. The involvement of former student leader Professor Arthur Mutambara as leader of the pro-senate MDC faction was also criticised as meaningless. William Bango, personal assistant to Tsvangirai, said the pro-senate congress and Mutambara’s return were a media issue that was being fuelled by a few individuals. He said a planned rally by the pro-senate group had failed to take off and few of the leaders had met for just 2 hours.

Bango referred to the judgement that was made by Justice Omarjee, who threw out an application by the pro-senate side seeking to remove Tsvangirai as leader of the party. He said: “Until this high court decision is set aside, Tsvangirai’s leadership is not under threat.” Bango explained how only the congress scheduled for March 17th can deal with this issue. As for Mutambara’s return to politics, Bango said those on the ground in Zimbabwe were not aware of all the buzz in the media. He said unfortunately Mutambara was trying to enter politics through a platform that is not recognised. Mutambara’s statement, he said, was a media sound bite but he does not represent the MDC, according to Bango.

Asked whether reconciliation with the pro-senate leaders was possible, Bango said Tsvangirai’s view was that any wayward members of the MDC who went astray for any reason were welcome to come back. He said all aggrieved members can bring their grievances to the congress and the people will decide, not Tsvangirai and not any other individual. Tsvangirai’s group has organised their congress for March 17th to March 19th in Harare.

With both factions of MDC claiming to be legitimate as prescribed by the party’s constitution, the opposition vote will continue to be split during elections. This will give ZANU-PF a huge advantage in future elections. It is not yet clear whether the courts will get involved in this internal dispute over the name, but until then there will be 2 sets of MDC officials in each province, 2 leaders and 2 executive councils. Mugabe cannot be defeated by a split opposition, and Zimbabweans remain confused as to what all this means and how their suffering will end.