MDC-T Ready for Grand Battle at Extraordinary Congress

HARARE – Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by interim leader Thokozani Khupe is moving an inch closer to the Extraordinary Congress (EOC) to choose its substantive stalwart. 

The party which was led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai has been under the leadership of Khupe since 2018 but was instructed to hold a proper electoral process by the Supreme Court. 

The ruling came after a tussle involving little known Elias Mashavira and the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa who has since rejected the court outcome. 

Chamisa and the majority of the MDC Alliance members have maintained they have nothing to do with the ‘pseudo MDC party’ led by Khupe. 

Current party Treasurer and acting spokesperson Tapiwa Mashada said the MDC-T was ready to embrace any leader elected during the congress since they all have undoubted qualities. 

“As you can see all the candidates are solid and the MDC-T will be in safe hands under the leadership of any of the 4 opposition stalwarts. The focus is to rebuild a strong opposition party that can remove Zanu PF from power come 2023. 

“This is the party that seeks to restore the legacy of our iconic leader Morgan Tsvangirai whom the MDC Alliance seeks to obliterate but of course in vain,” wrote Mashakada. 

MDC-T will be holding its EOC this week with Thokozani Khupe (current President), Douglas Mwonzora (Secretary General), Elias Mudzuri (former Deputy President) and Morgen Komichi (Chairperson) set to battle it out for the party’s chief executive post. 

Here is some few things you need to know about the MDC-T candidates: 

A former Deputy Prime Minister during the inclusive government era, Dr Thokozani Khupe is a PhD holder from the University of Zimbabwe and is a founding member of the MDC in 1999. 

She hails from the railyways workers union and is also a member of the United Nations Women. Currently she is the Acting President of the MDC-T, the party of Morgan Tsvangirai. 

Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora is a top lawyer who holds an LLM degree and founded the MDC in 1999 from the NCA movement.

He is one of the longest opposition activists in post independent Zimbabwe from his days at ZUM in the 1980s fighting against the one party state. 

Mwonzora is the  MDC-T Secretary General and the co-Chairperson of the COPAC during the 2009-13 constitution writing period. 

Engineer Elias Mudzuri is the Deputy National Chairman. He is a graduate of Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and Harvard.

He is former mayor of Harare. He was the National Organizing Secretary when the MDC romped to victory in 2008. 

Morgen Komichi is the MDC-T National Chairman and a founder member hailing from the Zimbabwe Electricity and Energy Workers Union. 

He has acquitted himself as the chief election agent in all MDC elections and is a jailbird.

He holds a Masters degree in Strategy, Administration and Conflict Resolution. He is known as a very brave and principled leader.