Source: Drama at Supreme Court, as Khupe is humiliated by MDC T supporters – DailyNews Live
Tendai Kamhungira 23 May 2018
HARARE – Hordes OF MDC T supporters, suspected to be rooting for Nelson
Chamisa in the party’s unresolved succession, yesterday swamped the
Supreme Court and hurled insults at their former vice president Thokozani
Khupe.
This came as the Supreme Court directed the High Court to hold a trial to
determine whether Khupe is entitled to use the name of the party and
establish if there were now two MDC-T parties, raising hopes among the
squabbling parties that the matter could now be decisively dealt with
before the impending elections.
Yesterday, the Chamisa faction successfully appealed a High Court order
which had given leeway to Khupe’s camp to continue using the party name
and symbols.
In the appeal, MDC-T was represented by Thabani Mpofu, while the
respondents Khupe, Obert Gutu and Abednico Bhebhe, were represented by
Lovemore Madhuku.
The appeal was granted by consent from both parties before Supreme Court
judges Paddington Garwe, Antoinette Guvava and Anne-Marie Gowora, referred
the matter back to the High Court for a trial to be conducted.
“It is ordered by consent that: the appeal be and is hereby allowed with
no order as to costs, the judgment of the court a quo be and is hereby set
aside and in its place the following is substituted:
“The application for this matter to be dealt with on an urgent basis is
granted, in view of the material disputes of fact afflicting the
application, it is ordered that the application be referred to trial for
the resolution of the following disputes: whether or not there are two
MDC-T parties, if not, whether the respondents are entitled to use the
name, symbol, logo and trademarks of the MDC-T,” Garwe, who was leading
the Supreme Court bench said.
But while the case was being heard, dozens of MDC T supporters were
gathered outside singing and denouncing Khupe.
They partially blocked Samora Machel Avenue, with some banging the door
leading to the courtroom during an adjournment.
Riot police had to be called to monitor the situation.
The numbers continued swelling as dozens more were dropped at court by
commuter omnibuses.
Soon after Khupe left the courtroom, she was mobbed by dozens of people,
who were singing and shouting obscenities at her.
Chamisa and Khupe are embroiled in a bitter leadership wrangle that
emerged after the death of MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai on
February 14, this year.
Khupe is steadfastly refusing to accept that Chamisa is the bona fide
successor to Tsvangirai.
The party’s leadership squabble has been raging on despite the popular
Chamisa having been unanimously endorsed as presidential candidate in this
year’s make-or-break elections by the MDC Alliance.
Apart from Chamisa’s MDC-T, the alliance includes Tendai Biti’s Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), Welshman Ncube’s MDC, Jacob Ngarivhume’s Transform
Zimbabwe, Zanu Ndonga headed by Denford Masiyarira, and the Multi-Racial
Christian Democrats which is led by Mathias Guchutu.
Biti and Ncube are former secretaries-general of the original and united
MDC which was led by Tsvangirai.
In the meantime, the MDC-T’s national council – which is the party’s
highest decision-making body outside congress -endorsed Chamisa as the
party’s president, although the gathering that made that decision is being
contested by Khupe in the main.
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