Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Francis Bere ruled that there is a constitutional crisis in the MDC-T and there was no urgency in the matt...
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Francis Bere ruled that there is a constitutional crisis in the MDC-T and there was no urgency in the matter because Adv Chamisa had not been confirmed by an impartial body to be the rightful heir to the MDC-T throne.“There is a constitutional crisis in the MDC-T which must be urgently resolved first to determine the legitimacy to one of the competing parties to the leadership of the party. That resolution is the only one that must confer legitimacy to one of the competing parties to the leadership of the MDC-T,” he said.
Justice Bere said until legitimacy to the leadership is confirmed through a court process or arbitration, none of the MDC-T factions can claim to be the lawful authority of the party.
“It therefore makes sense to put that dispute before an impartial body to give guidance or lasting solution to the conflict. Issues of legitimacy in the MDC-T cannot be resolved on the basis of popularity or lack of it,” he said.
The judge said those who desire to get legitimacy to the leadership of the MDC-T must demonstrate “an insatiable appetite for constitutionalism.”
“There should be no room for the subversion of that constitution by any of the factions or any member of the party, and whenever that happens, it would be a serious violation of the rule of law. The issue of a trade mark is a peripheral one that should resolve itself once the substantive issue of the legitimacy to the MDC-T leadership is resolved,” he said.
“The applicants and their locus standi in even bringing this application, is therefore questionable. The applicants and the respondents are in equal standing until a proper determination as regard to their status in the MDC-T is made by an independent competent body,” said the judge.
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