DEPOSED MDC leader Arthur Mutambara claimed to have fired the party’s new president Welshman Ncube on Wednesday – the latest twist as he desperately hangs onto the Deputy Prime Minister’s post.
Mutambara declared himself the “legitimate” leader of the party in a move aimed at pre-empting his expected expulsion on Thursday for defying the party’s order to stand down and accept a ministerial post.
Mutambara, who did not challenge Ncube at the party’s January congress, said he had expelled the new leader with immediate effect – the last straw apparently the new leadership’s decision to convene an emergency national council meeting for Thursday.
“Consequently, I had to take a very drastic decision to salvage the image of the party, to salvage the integrity of our movement and the decision is to immediately expel from our party Professor Welshman Ncube,” Mutambara told a news conference in Harare.
“As the legitimate president of the MDC, I have taken the decision to immediately expel Professor Welshman Ncube from our party because we feel that if we continue on this road of disagreement and discord, we will damage the image of our party.
“This decision of expulsion will be ratified by our national council, by due process and constitutional provisions.”
The robotics professor was flanked by Tsitsi Dangarembwa, the former chairman Joubert Mudzumwe and ex-youth leader Costa Chipadza who are joined in a court application seeking to annul Ncube’s election at the congress which Mutambara attended.
But Mutambara’s latest attempts to forestall his expulsion were immediately dismissed as “nonsensical” by Ncube.
Ncube told New Zimbabwe.com: “Arthur Mutambara is an ordinary member of the MDC. Even if he were leader, there are only two ways by which a party member can be expelled – and a press conference is not one of them.”
Ncube explained that the party’s constitution granted powers of expelling a member to the national council which must vote in favour of such an action by a two thirds majority; or alternatively the member would have to be summoned by the disciplinary committee which can make a decision to terminate their membership.
“We could never as a democratic party have a situation where one person sits and decide the fate or everyone else. Even the national council itself can’t do it without a clear two thirds majority,” Ncube said by telephone from Harare.
He added: “It’s all rather nonsensical. We must really make an apology to the people of Zimbabwe that we are involved in this circus. We really should be paying attention to the needs of the people, but regrettably we are starring in this circus that Professor Mutambara is making.
“We promise the people of Zimbabwe that we will bring this circus to a very swift end tomorrow. We regret that we are participants in a comedy which represents the lowest depth in Zimbabwe politics. Our only consolation is that we as a party have corrected our mistake where we had a lunatic in charge of the asylum.”
Mutambara was served with an official letter from the party’s vice president Edwin Mushoriwa on Wednesday morning in line with the party’s constitution which requires notice to be given to a member who is being considered for expulsion.
The letter allows Mutambara to make written submissions to the national council or address the national council in person – options which he appears to have decided not to exercise.
Mutambara appeared to have accepted the leadership changes until the MDC's standing committee met and decided to re-assign its officers in the coalition government which started work in February 2009.
The reshuffle would have seen Ncube becoming the new Deputy Prime Minister, with Mutambara moving to the post of Regional Integration Minister. Priscilla Misihairabwi, currently Regional Integration Minister, would take over Ncube's old job.
Mutambara insists that as a signatory to a power sharing agreement with Zanu PF leader Robert Mugabe and rival MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai inked in September 2008, his position is guaranteed.
“I would never have taken the oath to serve this country in the office of Deputy Prime Minister if I had not committed myself to serve this country faithfully for the entire duration of the inclusive government,” he said on Monday.
But while the power sharing agreement, now part of the constitution, specifically designates the presidency to Mugabe and the premiership to Tsvangirai, it only states that the two MDC factions shall second a Deputy Prime Minister each.