MDC top politicians, Welshman Ncube and Douglas Mwonzora have had ugly exchanges on twitter with the latter accusing the party vice president of plotting a coup against disputed party leader Nelson Chamisa.

The simmering rivalry within the main opposition has been ignited by a recent Supreme Court ruling declaring Chamisa’s rise to the party helm as fraudulent.

Mwonzora claimed Ncube was intentionally leading Chamisa astray so he could snatch his boss’s job at their party’s next congress in 2024.

The exchanges followed claims by Ncube that party politicians who openly celebrated the Supreme Court ruling had been sold a dummy by the court.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court Tuesday upheld an earlier High Court order for the beleaguered party to revert back to its leadership elected in 2014 and to call for an extra-ordinary elective congress within three months.

Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi, two party leaders who emerged victorious from the cited congress, have openly welcomed the ruling, drawing wide condemnation from the party faithful for alleged treachery.

In a bitter exchange of words on Twitter, Mwonzora questioned whether Ncube was not throwing dust in  Chamisa’s eyes as he allegedly did with former president of the now defunct MDC splinter group Arthur Mutambara.

Ncube was first to lead an MDC revolt back in 2005, which saw the party split into two with the Ncube formation later inviting Mutambara to become its leader. Founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now late, remained with the mainstream MDC.

Ncube, who was secretary general of the splinter group, later took Mutambara’s job at a party congress, something that did not go well with the one-time deputy prime minister who was allowed to cling to his government job by then State President Robert Mugabe.

Charged Mwonzora, “We must equally ask are you (Ncube) not deliberately setting up Nelson Chamisa for failure so that you take over from him in 2024 as you did Mutambara some years back?”

“Given your rebellion against Tsvangirai it becomes a habit does it not? Only time will tell.”

Ncube responded: “We do not need to wait for time to tell, Chamisa is astute, very astute. He does not need me to make informed and strategic choices.

“Speaking for myself, and you can take this to your vault, I will not take over or rather I will not see to take over in 2024 or at any other time.”

Mwonzora finds himself fighting for his political life amid a volley of accusations by angry MDC members he was a party sell-out.

All Africa