We can’t guarantee peaceful congress, says MDC-T

it will not guarantee peace to delegates during its forthcoming national congress set for Bulawayo next week.
MDC-T organising secretary, Mr Elias Mudzuri said: “I cannot guarantee peace during the congress . . . Even God has never guaranteed peace but given some guidelines of living with each other. We will, however, not brook any violence.
“We anticipate a violence free congress . . . We hope we will not have external interference.”
Mr Mudzuri said this while updating journalists on the progress his party had made in conducting the provincial elections ahead of its third congress.
The party’s youths last week shocked many when they set upon mourners at Warren Hills Cemetery during the unveiling of tombstones for MDC-T activists and damaged police and private vehicles.
They also fought in the streets of Bulawayo, Mutare and Gweru during provincial elections.
Initially the MDC-T congress had been set for April 29 to May 1 but has since been changed to April 28-30 to enable its supporters to celebrate Workers Day.
Mr Mudzuri said Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, who is also Kenya’s premier, had confirmed attending the congress as guest of honour.
“The congress will be officially opened by Mr Raila Odinga . . . he will be jetting into the country soon,” he said.
Mr Mudzuri said there were violent clashes during provincial congresses, adding his party would deal with the culprits.
“We do not want violence in the party. We have taken the names of people who have been behind this violence, and disciplinary action is going to be taken against them,” he said.
“We want to come up with a congress resolution that will condemn violence. We are having a meeting of the executive to discuss violence in the party.”
MDC-T has conducted elections in eight of the 12 provinces that were marred by violence. The remaining ones will be concluded before the Bulawayo congress.
Speaking at the same meeting, party spokes-person, Mr Nelson Chamisa, said all nominations for the posts to be contested at the congress were going to be done at provincial level.
“No nominations will be done at the congress,” he said. No nominations had been made so far.
The contested posts at the congress are: president, deputy president, chairman, vice chairman, secretary general and deputy, treasurer general and deputy, organising secretary and deputy as well as secretary for information and publicity.
There have been serious cases of intra-party violence in the MDC-T and several people were injured in skirmishes that took place in Bulawayo, the Midlands, Mutare, Masvingo, Mashonaland East, Harare and Mashonaland West provinces.
In Bulawayo, several MDC-T youths have been attacked in intra-party violence.
Three MDC-T youths in Bulawayo on Tuesday appeared in court for allegedly assaulting the party’s provincial director of elections on Saturday.
Scores of MDC-T supporters were reportedly injured at the party’s provincial election congress held at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions offices in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Ntonga Mhlanga (21), Lloyd Chamboko (27) and Witness Dube (34) were arrested on Saturday after skirmishes involving two rival factions within the party.
Dube is the party’s aspiring candidate for the post of provincial youth chairperson.
The clashes allegedly involved party supporters loyal to Mr Gorden Moyo and those in support of Mr Matson Hlalo, the Mzilikazi Senator who lost the Bulawayo Province chairmanship to Mr Moyo.
Mhlanga, Chamboko, Dube and another party youth, who is still at large, allegedly assaulted Mr Clint Chigumbu with an iron bar on the head and he fell down and lost consciousness.
The three were not formally charged when they appeared before Bulawayo magistrate, Mr Ndumo Masuku, facing a charge of contravening Section 89 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23 (assault).
They were released on US$50 bail.
The three will next appear in court on May 30.
Mr Hlabezulu Malinga of Job Sibanda and Associates represented Mhlanga, Chamboko and Dube.
It is alleged that Mr Chigumbu left the ZCTU offices where they were gathered intending to buy food but was allegedly attacked by the accused.
The accused allegedly continued to kick Mr Chigumbu as he lay on the ground until he bled profusely.
Other party members who were at the meeting attempted to rescue Mr Chigumbu but Mhlanga, Chamboko and Dube allegedly dragged him to a secluded place where they tied him with an electric cord and continued to assault him.