HARARE - Former Harare mayor Elias Mudzuri, is one of the candidates set to challenge MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai at their extra-ordinary congress expected this year and we applaud him for taking the democratic initiative to openly challenge his boss.
True democrats remain civil even in the heat of political rivalry and the fact that Mudzuri has decided to go for Tsvangirai’s post in an open election means that at least the MDC leader will be challenged in an open contest not through clandestine means as being witnessed in the party today.
Speaking to the Daily News recently, Mudzuri described himself as “a politician who is not driven by greed” but the desire to serve the people.
“I have not been attending these rallies because I feel now is the time to be going underground and work for the benefit of the people.
“I do not want to talk about that (succession) now because people have gone factional and I don’t understand why they have chosen to abandon the national objective.
“For now, Tsvangirai is the leader of the party and we must all respect that leadership. Anyone who thinks otherwise is lost but there are some people who are greedy who want power for the sake of it.
“I have been trying to bring people together. I am worried, I am pained, probably the most, and I wish we could just go to congress united and not pursue our selfish interests”.
The spirit shown by Mudzuri is what is needed in any democratic society where winners and losers of any political contestation embrace each other and work together for the betterment of the lives of millions of people who look up to them.
Mudzuri’s decision to contest Tsvangirai openly exposes the so-called MDC Renewal Team, headed by Tendai Biti as a group of power hungry individuals who can’t stand the heat of the congress.
This is why they decided to go rogue.
Biti’s group should have just been patient and waited for the congress and challenge even Tsvangirai in an open contest just like Mudzuri has done.
Zimbabweans have watched in horror as the opposition tears itself apart at a time the Zanu PF succession battle has reached alarming levels.
This is the time when the MDC needs to be really united, not the fractious way they plunged into elections last year.
Zanu PF has factions, yes but they fight in a civil manner not the uncouth way power hungry individuals in the MDC are doing it.