MDC-T formalises expulsions Mr Mwonzora
Mr Mwonzora

Mr Mwonzora

Farirai Machivenyika and George Maponga Harare Bureau
MDC-T has said it has officially written to its expelled four officials informing them of their fate, but the officials said they had not received such letters.
This comes as political temperatures reached boiling point in Masvingo where MDC-T rival factions traded accusations of usurping the party’s constitution following a decision by the provincial management committee to suspend two members for trying to wrestle power from elected officials.
In Harare, the expelled officials include party deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, national executive member Last Maengahama, youth national secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi and former director of information in former Prime Minister’s Office Jacob Mafume.

The four were sacked by the national council that met in Harare last week.
Party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora told our Harare Bureau yesterday that the expulsion letters were written and signed by the party’s national chairman, Lovemore Moyo, drawing his powers from Clause 9.3 of the MDC-T constitution.

“I am making a statement that the letters have been prepared and dispatched from the office of the national chairman. Whether they received them today or not I am not sure,” said Mwonzora.

He said the letters could be signed by anyone senior, but not by secretary general Tendai Biti whom he said according to Clause 9.5 of the constitution did not have disciplinary powers.

“Besides, our secretary general is conflicted, he cannot sign the disciplinary letters because he had reservations with the suspension of these people in the first place,” said Mwonzora.

“However, he did not say anything on their expulsion.”
Mafume, who has been spokesperson for the expelled members calling themselves MDC Team Renewal, said they did not receive the letters.

“They have not written the letters and I can’t imagine how one can write such a letter,” he said.
“We have not received anything and we do not expect to receive any letters because under the party’s constitution there is no provision that allows summary expulsion of any member.”

He reiterated that the party had not followed its own constitution when it “purportedly expelled” them, stressing that in the case of Mangoma, Article 12 of the MDC-T constitution was clear on the due process to be followed against him since he was a Standing Committee member.

Mafume said that the National Council would only make a decision after hearing the concerned member’s side of the story.
“The irony of this is that this is a party which claims is a stickler of the rule of law and that justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done, but is now violating its own constitution,” he said.

In Masvingo, the management committee led by Wilstaf Sitemere, convened a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Rhodene suburb where they announced the suspension of provincial legal affairs secretary Derick Charamba and provincial secretary for elections Boas Manyanye.

The two allegedly convened an “illegal” provincial executive meeting at the same venue on Sunday where they allegedly appointed themselves the de-facto MDC-T leadership in Masvingo.

Manyanye and Charamba are part of a faction within the MDC-T in Masvingo that is behind embattled party leader  Morgan Tsvangirai, while the Sitemere–led executive is believed to be behind Mangoma.

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