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Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
MDC-T has withdrawn its High Court application challenging the axing of its leaders by the MDC Renewal Team as per its resolutions passed at Mandel Training Centre in Harare early this year.

The withdrawal of the court application according to MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu was aimed at forcing the Speaker of the National Assembly Cde Jacob Mudenda and President of the Senate Cde Ednah Madzongwe to declare the 18 seats in both houses vacant.

Parliament had said it could not entertain the case as it was before the courts.

If successful, the recalling of the MPs will trigger by-elections.

“We want to recall 18 MPs but Mudenda and Madzongwe in their response to our request last week said they could not do so since the court case was pending,” said Gutu in an interview.

“Now that the court case is no longer in the courts we are optimistic that the MPs will be recalled.”

Gutu said the court application had also been overtaken by events.

He added that the MDC-T had just held an elective congress which he said had resolved to withdraw the court case.

“So we want to ensure that other people don’t continue arguing that there is a pending court case,” said Gutu.

The MPs to be recalled include former secretary-general Tendai Biti who is now one of the leaders of a splinter MDC calling itself the MDC Renewal Team.

Biti teamed up with former party deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma to convene the disputed April 26 Mandel Training Centre “national council” meeting which decreed Tsvangirai’s suspension and that of his top leadership.

The group accused Tsvangirai of being a dictator who violated the party’s constitution, among other allegations.

Members of the MDC Renewal Team insist that they fired the entire leadership of the Morgan Tsvangirai faction at their Mandel Training Centre national council meeting hence they are the bonafide party leadership.

Renewal Team spokesperson Jacob Mafume said the withdrawal of the court application by MDC-T buttressed the fact that the meeting was legitimate and that their leadership was legitimate.

“This means that the expulsion of Tsvangirai stands and that we have the legitimate leadership,” he said.