MDC-T on Monday set July 31 as the date for the congress following Supreme Court judgment last month ordering that the congress be held 90 days from the date of the ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled that Nelson Chamisa was not the legitimate leader of the MDC, affirming a ruling of the High Court passed last year.

Chamisa had been embroiled in a leadership tussle with Thokozani Khupe, the leader of a faction of the MDC, who claimed she was the legitimate leader of the MDC and that the party should revert to its 2014 constitution.

Khupe approached the High Court, where she won her case, leading to Chamisa’s appeal at the Supreme Court.

Douglas Mwonzora, who assumed the post of MDC-T secretary-general following the Supreme Court ruling, has reportedly started campaigning for the party presidency against two other contenders, Morgen Komichi and Gift Chimanikire.

Mwonzora is in charge of organising an extra-ordinary congress (EOC) to choose the MDC-T’s substantive executive.

“The structures are clear that Khupe can’t be our president because she is too compromised, she is seen as a Zanu PF project and they don’t even want her to remain acting president for three months, they want the EOC to be done faster,” a Mwonzora aide said.

“Khupe has never been in the contention for MDC presidency, she was vice at (founding leader) Morgan (Tsvangirai)’s death, that entitled her to act pending EOC.

But it ended there. She has to be realistic. The moment is not hers,” the source said.