Garikai Fadzi
The MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has thrown in the towel in his fight with former MDC-T co-deputy president Thokozani Khupe over the right to use the party logo and name following the death of founding president Morgan Tsvangirai in February.
In a matter heard by Justice Dube on Monday, lawyer representing the Chamisa faction, Advocate Thabani Mpofu asked the judge to remove the case from the roll citing that since the voters’ roll has been printed, there was no need for the matter to be heard on an urgent basis.
Khupe’s lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, said there was a possibility for the matter to be heard after the elections.
“They called the judge to remove the matter from the court roll. Their reasons were that since the ballot paper has since been printed, there was no need for it to proceed now,” Madhuku said.
In April, the Chamisa through his lawyers filed an urgent High Court chamber application seeking to stop Khupe from using the MDC-T party symbol and name claiming she was expelled from the country’s main opposition party.
Chamisa’s faction has since filed his nomination papers ahead of the general elections under the MDC Alliance, while Khupe will stand as MDC-T leader.
Relations between Chamisa and Khupe became frosty after succumbed to cancer of the colon early this year.
Khupe claimed she was supposed to take over the party’s reigns since she was the only elected Vice President of the party.
Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri were handpicked by Tsvangirai as the two vice presidents, sparking a fierce clash over who would replace the former premier.
After Tsvangirai’s demise, the party’s National Council appointed Chamisa to be the party’s leader.
Khupe and Chamisa are among the 23 candidates vying for the country’s top job in elections set for July 30.
The poll is the first since the resignation of long-time leader Robert Mugabe last November.
