By Ziyah News Reporter
The High Court of Zimbabwe has officially removed Douglas Mwonzora as the president of the MDC-T after Judge Hapias Zhou declared the party’s December 2022 congress null and void. The court ordered the MDC-T to hold a new congress within six months.
Following the ruling, Douglas Mwonzora has now been demoted to secretary general of the party. Morgan Komichi has been appointed as the new National chairperson, Elias Mudzuri will serve as vice president, and Thokozani Khupe has been designated as the acting president.
Mwonzora’s original ascent to party leadership came through controversial means during an extraordinary congress in December 2020, where he defeated Thokozani Khupe, Elias Mudzuri, and Morgan Komichi amid allegations of violence and rigging.
Both Khupe and Komichi walked out of the voting process, citing unfair practices and a fraudulent voters’ roll. Mudzuri also left the congress shortly after the voting began.
Nevertheless, Mwonzora was declared the winner, securing 883 votes against Khupe’s 118, Mudzuri’s 14, and Komichi’s 9.
On December 18, 2022, the MDC-T held an ordinary congress, during which Mwonzora was endorsed as the sole presidential candidate for the upcoming 2023 general elections.
The congress also confirmed Chief Ndlovu as the first vice president and Paurine Mpariwa as the second vice president, both unopposed.
Following the congress, Mudzuri and three other applicants challenged the validity of the 2020 congress in the High Court, seeking an order for a fresh congress.
On Friday, February 28, High Court Judge Justice Zhou ruled in favor of Mudzuri and the other applicants. The judge stated that the 2022 congress was null and void, as it did not adhere to the requirements laid out in the MDC-T constitution.
“The purported National Congress held in December 2020 by the second respondent as the National Congress of the first respondent be and is hereby declared null and void for noncompliance with the first respondent’s Constitution,” part of the ruling reads.
The court has mandated that a new National Congress be held within six months, overseen by an independent election commission as stipulated in the MDC-T constitution.
Additionally, the court ruled that Mwonzora and the other respondents are responsible for paying the costs of the legal proceedings. “The Respondents shall jointly and severally, the one paying and the other being absolved, pay the costs,” the ruling continues.