Following MDC Alliance Councillor Jacob Mafume’s election as Harare mayor, beating the MDC-T nominee Luckson Mukunguma by 19 votes to 14, a political analyst said the MDC-T leaders should be careful of the treacherous political terrain they have chosen to walk on.
Pedzisai Ruhanya, who is also a Communications, Media and Democracy expert, said Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC-T president and secretary-general respectively, should be warned of the price for “selling out”. He tweeted:
Lawyer Jacob Mafume of MDC Alliance [Nelson Chamisa] is the new Mayor of Harare after Councillors elected him defeating [Douglas] Mwonzora, Khupe, Zanu PF candidate one Mukunguma who had defected. Dear Doug, this is a warning and price of selling out!
By the way, Mwonzora had fired 10 MDC Alliance (Chamisa Councillors) including Mayor Herbert Gomba before this election to advantage his evil agenda but lost as Councillors remain defiant. He wants to control fraudulently, without the mandate of the people.
On Thursday, the odds appeared heavily staked against Mafume with councillors risking recall to vote him into office.
Mafume joined the MDC Alliance under Tendai Biti’s Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and is therefore immune from recall.
His win shows that the majority of MDC Alliance councillors have rejected Khupe and chose to remain loyal to Chamisa even though the threat of recall by Mwonzora hangs like the Sword of Damocles over them.
Recently, Mwonzora recalled several MDC Alliance councillors including the then mayor Herbert Gomba.
Mwonzora said he derived the authority to recall the councillors basing on the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe judgement in SC 56/20.