The courts obviously have a role to play to get estranged families to talk to each other in order to get back together, but I think there is a limit to which the courts can influence such decisions. The size of the families involved will matter, and in large families such as political parties, it is always difficult to reach unanimous agreement on how to resolve disputes.
But even when it comes to smaller families, take husband and wife who have fallen out and take their case to the courts, do we have a precedent at law when courts have ruled that the estranged couples must get back together? And coming back to political parties, do we have any precedence in politics where Courts have been successful in getting estraged political players to get back together?
In as far as I am concerned, disputes of the nature affecting the MDC can only be resolved by negotiating, and I salute people like Mr Adednego Bhebhe is qouted saying “I would want a situation where both leaders come together so that we can come out this stronger”. I have said the same many times, to a point where I said if dialogue fails, then Advocate Chamisa and Dr. Khupe should kiss each other goodbye.
I have seen information circulating that of all the MPs and Senators who are in Parliament and in Senate under the MDC Alliance ticket, only Senator Advocate Mwonzora and Senator Morgan Komichi are of the opinion that an Extra Ordinary Congress should be held, and if that is true, that should be enough indication of the opinion of the people.
It will be interesting to see where the people who are supposed to be part of the Extra Ordinary Congress stand – those people who were in the structures in 2014. I have seen a few on video who have distanced themselves from the Extra Ordinary Congress, and I have also seen also Advocate Mwonzora and Senator Komichi separately speak on video saying hundreds have been calling them to support the idea of the Extra Ordinary Congress. That those people cannot speak for themselves raises eyebrows, but we can give Senators Mwonzora and Komichi the benefit of doubt, but at the end of the day it will be interesting to see what the majority of those people who are supposed to attend Congress say.
While it is good for people who started a project, the MDC in this case, should hang around together until the goals of the project to replace the Zanu PF regime is accomplished, people have different opinions which can cause conflict. What Mr Bhebhe has said is, let us get together and resolve this conflict, and I hope that beyond the media story, he is reaching out to the appropriate parties to get things resolved.
But of cause it is Corona time, and I respect the position by Advocate Nelson Chamisa who has remained calm and said he will only attend to these issues after Corona is resolved.
Looking it from another angle, the Supreme Court could have deliberately set up those wanting an Extra Ordinary Congress to fail, because the Court decided to announce the judgement knowing very well that the lockdown does not require people to move out of their houses. Even after the lockdown, people will only be allowed to congregate after the situation has been reviewed, and given the warnings being given by the World Health Organisation, public gatherings may not be possible in the next 120 days from now. So those who have been crying foul about why the judgement was announced during lockdown may have a good reason to celebrate, because the learned judges knew that public gatherings will only be allowed after the situation has been reviewed as this had been announced by President Mnangagwa.
Dialogue, not court judgements are the only. If dialogue failed, as it seems to have, people should be allowed to exercise their right to dissociate and associate respectively.