Madhuku re-elected to controversial 3rd term as head of NCA

By Violet Gonda
29 May 2006

The controversy over Dr Lovemore Madhuku’s attempts to serve a third term as the head of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) came to a head at their Annual General Meeting on Saturday.

In an atmosphere that was described as tense and despite criticism and pressure from some NCA stakeholders for the chairman to step down, Madhuku was re-elected for a third term after the constitution was amended to allow the civic leader to stand again.

Former NCA deputy chairman Douglas Mwonzora said, “The Annual General Meeting (AGM) was a tragedy in the history of Zimbabwe. We preach against the continued rule of Robert Mugabe… it was chaotic, it was unreasonable; it was unfair to the general membership of the NCA. It was a disaster.”

But Madhuku said there was nothing undemocratic about the amendment which he said was passed by over 92% of the delegates. He said out of 805 people who voted – 744 voted in favour. The outspoken government critic said all negative comments came from people who either didn’t understand the nature of the struggle in Zimbabwe or who had personal interests and were looking forward to occupying the position themselves.

However, Mwonzora accused Madhuku of crafting the constitutional amendment without consulting the stakeholders. He said, “The amendments were actually written by Dr Madhuku. Normally a legal committee – of which I am a member – is supposed to sit and craft the amendments that would have come from the people. But the legal committee did not sit… and they were also not dealt with at the previous AGM.”

Madhuku, a constitutional law expert, denied this saying: “NCA members are identifiable, they are known by name. Talk to them and ask them and you will know at the end of the day who is telling the truth.”

But his colleague Mwonzora was adamant. He went further to allege that Madhuku’s supporters assaulted and intimidated those who tried to voice their concerns about the amendments at the gathering. He alleged that the President of the Democratic Alliance Wurayayi Zembe and another member named Walter Nyoni from Bulawayo were beaten up after they challenged Madhuku.

Madhuku admitted the situation was tense but said there was no violence. He said Nyoni was pulled out of the meeting after he disrupted a section where delegates were being asked whether they preferred voting by secret ballot or by a show of hands. According to Madhuku that is when Nyoni got up and said Madhuku should not be changing the constitution so he can stay in power. Madhuku claims that people like Mwonzora are mis-representing issues, “ When elections were conducted he lost dismally. He couldn’t even win as a committee member and those elections were conducted peacefully.” The civic leader added that at the same time this speaks volumes about the kind of leadership “we would not want to see in-charge of an organisation like the NCA and this is why Mwonzora is not the chairperson of the NCA.”

Analysts have responded in dismay at the developments. The NCA has made a courageous stand against the regime of Robert Mugabe , carrying out street level action and often suffering severe consequences. Madhuku himself has applied a keen intelligence to the issues of Zimbabwe. Since the breakup of the MDC, the NCA has represented one of the most influential and internationally respected voices of opposition in the country. For this reason the events over the weekend have raised questions as to what extent pro-democracy groups can sustain and adhere to democratic principles in such a deeply hostile environment.