Nelson Chamisa in a generational succession bid

By Darlington Nyambiya

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) is currently battling strong winds that are demanding for a smooth transition to a new generation of leaders.

The demands for a smooth transition have been catapulted to the front by the death of the party’s iconic and towering leader, former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The death of Tsvangirai has given both Zimbabweans and MDC-T members a reality check and forced them to ponder into a future without the democratic struggle icon.

However, succession issues can sometimes get messy before the democratic process stabilises, a situation also witnessed in Zanu PF where the ruling party had to seek assistance from the military to enforce a smooth transition from the brutal Mugabe era to the new Mnangagwa Administration.

A similar scenario has also occurred in South Africa where the ruling ANC party was forced to arm-twist a reluctant former President Jacob Zuma to step down and pave way for newly elected ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa to take over as president of the country.

Like their counterparts in Zanu PF and the ANC, MDC T could also pass through that messy period before a new and stronger leader emerges from the succession battle.

It seems right, therefore, to take a closer look at young Nelson Chamisa whom many Zimbabweans consider as one of the front-runners to succeed the late Tsvangirai and take over the reins as leader at the main opposition MDC T party.

Nelson Chamisa

Chamisa is aged 40, having been born on 2 February 1978. Chamisa was appointed as one of the three vice presidents of the MDC T by the late Tsvangirai on 15 July 2016. He is also the current Member of Parliament for Kuwadzana constituency, Harare.

Nelson Chamisa is a founder member of the original MDC and has held different positions before his appointment as one of the party vice presidents. At one time the charismatic Chamisa was National Organiser, Secretary for Information and Publicity and National Youth chairperson for the party. Furthermore, Chamisa is also a former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union.

Chamisa also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration, an LLB (Honours) degree with the University of Zimbabwe, including also a bachelor’s degree in Marketing as well as a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy.

Nelson Chamisa also graduated with a Degree in Theology from Living Waters Bible College, an Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe run institution.

Democratic Struggle Credentials

Chamisa started doing politics during his college days, when he was elected Harare Polytechnic Student Representative Council (SRC) President in 1998 which, ironically, was his first year at the institution.

He was then elected the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) Secretary-General in 1999. It was on this student activism ticket that got Chamisa elected as MDC National Youth Chair between 2000 and 2006.

Subsequently, he was also elected Kuwadzana Member of Parliament in 2003 through a by-election that made him the youngest Member of Parliament at 25. Chamisa’s eloquence and outspokenness saw him become the party’s spokesperson in 2005.

In the Government of National Unity that resulted from the country’s 2008 botched up elections, Chamisa was appointed Minister of Information and Communication Technology, a position he held until 2013.

But Chamisa’s meteoric rise in the MDC T had continued, seeing youthful Chamisa become MDC T’s Organising Secretary in 2011. In 2014 Chamisa, however, suffered a setback after he lost the post of party Secretary General at that year’s MDC T congress to Douglas Mwonzora.

However, Chamisa made a quick comeback when he was appointed as one of the vice presidents of MDCT on 15 July 2016.

Some of Chamisa’s colleagues feel that his strong democratic struggle credentials have put him well ahead of his arch rivals in Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe to take over as party President. They say Chamisa has been at the brutal front line of the struggle for the last twenty years, while his opponents have been in the safety of background politics.

Competent Minister

As Minister of Information and Communication Technology between 2009 and 2013 in the GNU, Chamisa won accolades from his opponents, resulting even in former President Robert Mugabe dubbing him a supersonic minister.

Many of Chamisa’s supporters agree that his tenure as a government minister has shown that he possesses leadership skills, skills not only suited for MDC T party politics but expertise that would also allow for Zimbabwe to move forward if he becomes its next President.

As Minister of Information and Communication Technology, he picked a dispute with Webster Shamu, the Minister of Information and Publicity, regarding which ministry should deal with telecommunications.

Even though Chamisa lost the battle when former President Robert Mugabe assigned responsibility for telecommunications to the Ministry of Transport, headed by Nicholas Goche, it enhanced his democratic struggle credentials as a fearless critic of the fearsome Mugabe regime.

Chamisa’s bravery and truthfulness against the brutal ruling Zanu PF party is just the recipe needed to challenge Mnangagwa at this year’s election, according to some of his followers.

There are others who also note that during the GNU era, Chamisa showed that he was miles ahead of his rivals, Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe, for the now vacant party presidency following Tsvangirai’s passing on.

Mudzuri was sacked as minister by the late Tsvangirai under unclear circumstances, whereas Khupe seemed to struggle in her role as deputy prime minister.

The Moniker: Cobra

Nelson Chamisa is also known as cobra by both friends and foes. His enemies claim that Chamisa is like a snake that cannot be trusted because no matter what agreement you strike with him, he will turn around and betray you. But his friends argue that betrayal is a strong trait of a shrewd leader because in the life of a politician you sometimes need to indicate that you are turning left when you are actually going right in order for you to outwit and stay ahead of your opponents.

His supporters also strongly argue that Chamisa’s moniker of cobra is most appropriate for him because to fight Zanu PF you need to think out of the box and be as lethal as a cobra when you strike.

The supporters also claim that compared to his other arch rivals Chamisa is fearless and tough as steal to such an extent that he is as calm as a cobra and knows the right time to strike his enemies as this year’s election beckons.

General Public Opinion

The consensus on social media, MDC-T structures, Alliance partners and amongst Zimbabweans is that looking at the three MDC-T Vice Presidents, Nelson Chamisa stands shoulders above the rest.

According to Zimbabwe population statistics, over 70% of the population is under the age of 40 years.
The under 40’s in Zimbabwe did not witness the brutality of the armed struggle that brought independence in 1980 so even if they respect the war heroes but they are not loyal to the past.

This generation of under 40s is looking forward to electing a leader that not only has solutions for the present but has a vision for the future. So, the under 40’s are aligning their thinking with Nelson Chamisa who recently turned 40 years and understands their ambitions for today and tomorrow.

Nelson Chamisa has age on his side compared to his arch rivals who are way older than him with Elias Mudzuri turning 61 years this year and Thokozani Khupe at 54 years. Chamisa backers also argue that his young age will work in his favour against President Mnangagwa who is rumoured to be five years older than his official age of 75 years.

Conclusion

As above, Nelson Chamisa is clearly the front runner to succeed the late Morgan Tsvangirai as the leader of the MDC-T and presidential candidate of the MDC Alliance, but he faces stiff competition from former Harare mayor Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe.

Chamisa possesses the political acumen, stamina, age, democratic struggle credentials and bravery to take the ruling party head-on in this year’s July Elections.

However, after this messy period of internal fights, the MDC now needs to follow the democratic process and call for a special congress to elect its next leader who will succeed its iconic leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai. The road to succeed the late Morgan Tsvangirai is likely to be a two-horse race between Nelson Chamisa and his arch rival Elias Mudzuri.

Therefore, Nelson Chamisa is in a generational succession bid to replace the generation that fought in the independence armed struggle with the next generation of the under 40’s that is ambitious and looking for a leader who has solutions for today and a vision for the future.

The Writer: Darlington Nyambiya is the President of the Local Solutions Council (LSC) , a leading Zimbabwe Think Tank. The LSC is a Think Tank with members from diverse Zimbabwean communities in politics, business, religion and sports.

He is also a Pro-Democracy Activist, Political Strategist, Human Rights Defender, Social Media Commentator, Writer and a Business Executive. Contact Details ; Skype ID : darlington.nyambiya , Twitter handle: D_Nyambiya, Email :[email protected] , Corporate Twitter Handle : lsc_thinktank

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