MDC Mutambara Accuses Speaker of Parliament of Corruption

Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo of the MDC-Tsvangira now stands accused of corruption by the MDC Mutambara, who say he is failing to publish thier notice that the MPs expelled from MDC Mutambara are no longer MPs. The Speaker is accused of actually addressing meeting being held by the expelled MPs as they rally their constituencies behind them. This fight is part of Tsvangirai's strategy and is the reason why no noise is being made about the failure of Mugabe to call by-elections before 15 September, after which the parties will be allowed to contest against each other.

Harare, Zimbabwe, 14 August 2009

Welshman Ncube, the Secretary General of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara held a press conference yesterday at which they alleged that the MDC Tsvangirai Speaker of Parliament is engaged in corruption with regards the expelled MDC Mutambara MPs.

MDC have given the Speaker until Tuesday to publish notification that the seats are now vacant, failing which they will have him charged with corruption.

The party wrote last month to the Speaker informing him that the three expelled MPs were no longer Members of Parliament. The Speaker, says Welshman Ncube, has an obligation at law to publish that statement.

Ncube, the best Constitutional law brains in Zimbabwe, said the seats "do not fall vacant because the Speaker has pronounced them....the vacancy arises on the day the Speaker receives the notice."

You will recall we broke the story of the imminent rebellion in the party right here on this blog and named Job Sikhala as the ring-leader. Sikhala has since declared himself the president of the MDC.

We have also mentioned previously on this blog that the expelled MPs are almost certain to stand in their constituencies but for the MDC-Tsvangirai.

This is part of low-intensity warfare between the MDC-Tsvangirai and the MDC Mutambara.

Tsvangirai wants to destroy the MDC Mutambara by attrition. He sprang a surprise during the nomnation of his choice for Cabinet in February when he nominated Bhebhe, from the Mutambara party, to fill one of his own cabinet openings.

Mutambara protested and Bhebhe was withdrawn, but it appears they are still working together.

Most people think that this is strategy to dump the MDC-M officials in government, break away and then rejoin the main MDC.

I do not see how this can happen with Sikhala throwing spanners into the works. He has previously openly said that he could not be led by "a dunderhead" - referring to Tsvangirai.

For Tsvangirai, this is part of his own counter-strategy to Mugabe's strategy of trying to obliterate the MDC-T majority in parliament.

He is trying to win as many of the MPs on Mutambara's benches as possible so that when by-elections are called, they will stand for MDC-T, thereby going some way in nullifying the almost certain defeats that await his party in the by-election constituencies that they won by slim margins. Some are held only by 22 votes, other by two or three hundred.

Tsvangirai is supremely confident that he will win the MDC-M by-election constituencies.

This is why Tsvangirai is not making noise about the failure by Mugabe to call by-elections.

He needs time to put his MDC-M ducks in a row. So, he and Mugabe are working to a common interest on this,if not purpose.