Newsday reports claiming that MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has moved to ringfence himself from potential challenges ahead of the party’s elective congress in October after declaring that he was ordained by the late party founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai for the post.

The report quotes the party leader at the Morgan Tsvangirai memorial lecture, where it claims that Chamisa invoked what he said he was told by the former Prime Minister.

“I told the leadership that before Tsvangirai passed on, he told me to lead the MDC to achieve his vision of unity. My job is to ensure I provide a vision. A vision is for a few and provision for many. What is the vision? This year is our year of congress. We are deepening our democracy and democratically electing our leadership. We want to show we are not Zanu PF, but a party of the people that is going to lead,” he said.

Chamisa said before Tsvangirai left for his medical sojourn in South Africa, he asked him to take over the reins of MDC and unite the party, including roping in Welshmen Ncube and Tendai Biti. 

“We are going to congress in honour of the legacy of Morgan Tsvangirai. On January 5 (2018), before he went to seek medication, he called me. Luke (Tamborinyoka) was there. His wife (Elizabeth Macheka) was there and many others. He said to me: ‘Chamisa, I am going, so I am leaving you in charge. I want you to bring Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti back into the party’,” he said.

“I said I have heard you, but the job you want to give me, this will cause problems if you leave me in charge. I said to him, ‘please, appoint Mudzuri to act while you are away, then I will do the work that you have asked me when you come back, but Tsvangirai asked me why I was refusing and I said if (Thokozani) Khupe hears this, she will faint.’”