Former MDC national organizing secretary Abdenico Bhebhe has added his voice to the High Court ruling which last week Wednesday nullified party incumbent Nelson Chamisa’s presidency saying the party needs to be united in this turmoil.
The High Court ordered that the MDC go for an extra ordinary congress giving a lifeline to all party members who were chucked out of the party after they refused to recognize Chamisa’s appointment as the interim leader in February 2018 by the party’s highest decision making organ; national council, following the death of party founding father Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai.
In an exclusive interview with 263Chat Monday afternoon, Bhebhe said the party should use the ruling as an opportunity to unite for the benefit of the generality of the people of Zimbabwe.
“If the two MDCs were genuine that a mistake happened in the past they should take advantage of the ruling and possibly reunite not only for the good of the party but also for people of Zimbabwe who are tired of the current government’s machinations where the economy is grinding to a halt,” Bhebhe said.
Bhebhe’s remarks come after MDC T splinter leader Dr Thokozani over the weekend called for a dialogue among party members mentioned as respondents in Mashavire court application.
Bhebhe warned that opposition party members should be careful not create a political environment that gives Zanu PF an opportunity to pounce on them saying Elias Mashavire’s court application would have been avoided had the MDC’s politics been clean.
“Our politics in Zimbabwe is polarized. Polarization was started by Zanu PF and unfortunately, it has spilt into the opposition. Politics by its nature in Zimbabwe is not clean. It’s always dirty. We have been ruled by one political party that has abused the political power such that even within the opposition. We are no longer able to play clean politics and this creates a fertile ground for Zanu PF to abuse political power by interfering in opposition political affairs.
“The opposition should learn to play clean politics. If it plays clean politics, I don’t see any member of the opposition taking party or its leadership to court. Because the opposition politics was not clean, a man from Gokwe decided to sue the party. I don’t think Mashavire could have sued the party and its leadership if the opposition politics was clean,” Bhebhe said.
Bhebhe further opened up on the prospects of returning to the Chamisa led MDC saying if the party fan base and leadership realize his value he will gladly welcome the idea to be readmitted back into the main opposition.
“My politics is not driven on individualism but it is the interests of Zimbabweans that continue to drive my politics. If Zimbabweans decide today to say go and join party X or B I will gladly do that,” he said.
Bhebhe was kicked out of the party last year alongside Thokozani Khupe, former party chairman Lovemore Moyo and former spokesperson Obert Gutu, after they refused to abide by the party’s decision to ascend Chamisa into the party driving seat on an interim basis.
