Nelson Chamisa appears to have successfully neutalised the leaked Supreme court which is said to have ruled against the MDC.
In a yet to be delivered judgement, the MDC appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court ruling by Justice Mushore that found that Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri were not constitutionally appointed by Morgan Tsvangirai as VPs.
In recent weeks, many original MDC leaders who were in the 2014 structures have distanced themselves from an anti Chamisa group called DMTL which has been pushing for the removal of Nelson Chamisa through various court cases.This means that even if the Supreme Court was to rule against the MDC, there is likely to be no change to the current MDC setup.
Who is DMTL?
DMTL, is made up of people like Worship Dumba, George Rice, Edwin Dzambara, Shelton Jeri, and Wicklord Nyanyiwa. The group claims to be against the influence of G40 in the MDC. In recent weeks, other prominent MDC leaders have publicly voiced their concern about the influence of Jonathan Moyo in the MDC.
Jonathan Moyo was involved in a public spat with prominent US based MDC backer Freeman Chari which resulted in the revelation by Moyo that he funded Nelson Chamisa’s adverts for the 2018 Presidential Campaign.
In 2017, Patson Murimoga and George Rice launched the initial court case against the appointment of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri but lost the case. However, the current court case by Elias Mashavire was won at the High Court and this is the case that was appealed by the MDC.
DMTL yesterday opened a police case against Charlton Hwende, MDC Secretary General, after the severe assault of George Rice at PotBelly Restuarant in Belgravia on Friday. George Rice says he was severely injured after being hit on the back, cheek, head and the knees. He was taken to Hospital where he received treatment.
DMTL has been attempting to capitalise on the leaked Suprement court judgement to engineer the depature of Nelson Chamisa. However, it is clear that there is insufficient support for anyone else besides Chamisa and none of the possible candidates are willing to publicly declare their interest in the MDC Presidency.
Conclusion
1. The attack on DMTL shows that Nelson Chamisa camp is taking this group seriously.
3. There is need to clear up these disturbances in the MDC so that Nelson Chamisa can focus on 2023 elections.
4. Most senior MDC members have disowned the DMTL Group Khuphe, Biti, Sikhala, Ncube not behind this group – This leaves Mwonzora, Khumalo and Mudzuri as possible backers or the group.
As it currently stands, there is no serious threat to Nelson Chamisa’s Presidency. However, Chamisa needs to move quickly to unite the whole opposition in Zimbabwe if he is to stand a chance to win in 2020.
