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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE MDC-T national council yesterday re-affirmed Advocate Nelson Chamisa as the party’s acting president as chaos continues to rock the party.

The organ met at the party’s headquarters, Harvest House as co-deputy president Dr Thokozani Khupe who is claiming the same post continued to boycott the party’s meetings over security concerns.

The illness and subsequent death of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has plunged the MDC-T into chaos as his three deputies Adv Chamisa, Dr Khupe and Elias Mudzuri are fighting to succeed him.

In a Press briefing yesterday, the party’s acting chairman Mr Morgan Komichi said the national council had re-affirmed Adv Chamisa as the party’s acting president.

“The three vice presidents all had the right to claim to be acting but the national council has appointed Adv Chamisa as acting president and the party is guided by that decision.

“At the moment that problem has been resolved following the decison of the national council,” said Mr Komichi.

Adv Chamisa weighed in on the matter saying the national council resolution puts to rest the leadership vacuum issue.

“Yes we expect individuals to say I, I, it’s allowed because they are only speaking for themselves. But we have a party, we have a constitution, I’ve seen a lot of reports around constitutionalism. What we have done is constitutional, what we’ve done is 100 percent legal,” said Adv Chamisa.

“But already in terms of dealing with a vacuum of leadership, there is a leader who is acting. We have three deputy presidents in the party, of which one has to act.

“The power to appoint individuals to act is reposed in the national council in terms of article 8. That is the power that was exercised by the national council in choosing a leader.”

He said Dr Khupe was ignorant of the developments in the party as she has not been attending meetings in eight months.

“Of course we appreciate that our vice president Dr Thokozani Khupe who has not been attending meetings for the past eight months because of issues around the Alliance (MDC) with our president, the late Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai, is ignorant of developments in the party.

“We appreciate her circumstances. She has not understood the party processes that have been instituted and the position the party has taken,” he said.

Adv Chamisa said for purposes of unity, he will be sending a delegation to engage Dr Khupe.

Dr Khupe through her personal assistant Mr Witness Dube, said Adv Chamisa’s appointment was a nullity.

“It’s another illegal declaration from the previous one so nothing changes because the re-affirmation is coming from same faces,” said Mr Dube.

He said his boss was still working on resolving the party’s leadership crisis and consultations were underway.

Mr Dube said Dr Khupe could not attend yesterday’s meeting as there was a likelihood of being attacked like what happened in Buhera at Mr Tsvangirai’s burial.

The party’s secretary general Mr Douglas Mwonzora who was also attacked in Buhera, however, attended yesterday’s meeting. — @nqotshili.