Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has announced his withdrawal from party politics, bringing to an end a fiery two-decade career defined by sharp rhetoric, high-stakes negotiations, and unrelenting battles for democratic change.
Biti, who cut his teeth as a fearless human rights lawyer before entering Parliament in 2000, rose to prominence as Secretary General of the MDC-T in 2005 under the late Morgan Tsvangirai. He later played a central role in brokering the 2008 Government of National Unity, serving as Finance Minister until 2013.
But now, he says the “toxicity” consuming Zimbabwe’s opposition has drained his will to continue.
“It’s embarrassing,” Biti admitted in a recent interview. “Particularly for people like me who have been in the trenches for a long time, who bear the scars of fighting.”
The outspoken politician accused today’s opposition leaders of chasing perks rather than principles, pointing to the recent frenzy over vehicles donated by businessman Wicknel Chivhayo.
“All of us, all of them are now waiting to receive vehicles, to get a call to go and see Victor. And that’s not good enough,” he charged.
For Biti, the collapse of the MDC, once the country’s strongest opposition force, remains his deepest regret.
“We lost the MDC, we destroyed the only home we had,” he said.
After years of ceaseless rallies, court battles, and political skirmishes, Biti says the fight has lost its meaning. Instead of jumping to yet another political outfit, he now envisions a non-partisan civic platform devoted solely to defending the constitution much like the National Constitutional Assembly once did.
“We need to create a platform that is not political, that is not connected to any political party. Just to defend the constitution,” he argued.
Biti’s exit underscores a broader fatigue among Zimbabwe’s opposition heavyweights, many of whom bear the scars of struggle but now watch with disillusionment as political ideals give way to material rewards.
And yet, even in retreat, Biti insists his battle is not over shifting from a quest for power to a fight for principles, constitutionalism, and the very soul of Zimbabwe’s democracy.
