Madhuku under fire over party
By Fungi Kwaramba
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s opposition parties have said Lovemore Madhuku was “offside” in unilaterally transforming the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) into a political party.
Madhuku on Saturday turned the NCA into a fully-fledged political party in a move that has courted controversy. “The NCA is now a political party. We will be doing everything from lobbying to fighting for political power,” said Madhuku.
But his former allies say the NCA leader is “offside.”
Kurauone Chihwayi, spokesperson of the smaller MDC formation, said although everyone, including Madhuku can form a political party, it was “criminal” to turn the NCA into a political party.
“It is within his right to form a political party anybody can do that and we are not threatened by his organisation,” Chihwayi, a member of the NCA, said.
“However, it is very wrong for him to transform the NCA into a political party.”
Seemingly keen on providing the much fancied third way, Madhuku is giving a home to disgruntled officials or rebels from the MDC formations. But the MDC formations say they are members of the NCA and are casting aspersions on the newborn party.
Douglas Mwonzora, a former spokesperson of the NCA long before it became a political party and now a spokesperson for the mainstream MDC, said Madhuku should leave the pressure group alone if he wanted to pursue a political career.
“I don’t think it was proper to convert the NCA into a political party because it was formed for a specific purpose and that is lobby for a new constitution,” Mwonzora said.
“Whoever wanted to form a political party should have left the NCA and form his own party.”
However, Madhuku said those who are saying he is offside were ignorant of the amendments made to the NCA constitution which provides for the organisation to transform itself into a political party.
Madhuku in his words accuses Tsvangirai and Ncube of having baptised a defective constitution and labelling it people-driven. However, the MDC formations say the role of the NCA, although it was primarily to write a new constitution, was not limited to such. Daily News
