MRT House: The stench of death

Broken dirty windows, a huge unpleasant stench, neglected ablution facilities and a bunch of scary faces that fit as vagabonds is what only remains of the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House, home to a once formidable outfit, the MDC-T.

Workers have not been paid for long and the fight is before the courts, the doors to the party headquarters are always locked and passersby are always greeted with complete darkness at the entrance.

There is no activity except from two shops either side of the entrance to the MRT House where people flock for groceries.

For offices that housed the “indomitable” Morgan Tsvangirai, a former Prime Minister, the ghostly silence is too deafening but activists say it is the microcosm of the macrocosm, a reflection of the death of opposition in Zimbabwe since the demise of Tsvangirai on February 14, 2018.

September is significant as it marked the birth of the MDC from a combination of workers, students and activists to present what was to become the greatest challenge to Zanu PF’s hegemony since independence.

With days to go to September 11 to commemorate what was to be the party’s 27th anniversary, it seems there is little if anything to celebrate as the party is now a pale shadow of its former self.

Former Tsvangirai advisor gives up

“MDC is dead and buried,” Norest Marara, a former advisor to Tsvangirai and a senior executive in the once formidable opposition outfit said yesterday.

“Douglas Mwonzora is leading a rent seeking but useless and ineffective and politically irrelevant eating committee. For the party to be revived, Mwonzora and his minions, who are all illegitimate after the court dissolved his leadership, must go,” he added.

“That, however, looks impossible because he enjoys support from powerful forces with interests on who stays there. Until that happens, the MDC is dead never to come back.”

But what went wrong?

“Power struggles by ambitious but clueless leaders, triggered by the death of founding President Tsvangirai brought us here,” Marara said.

The death of Tsvangirai may have triggered the demise of the opposition given the drama that ensued during his burial in Humanikwa Village in Buhera in 2018.

Analysts believe the succession of Tsvangirai may have been poorly handled leading to cracks and the collapse was always imminent.

“Laws were broken, violence was meted against those opposed to Nelson Chamisa (who was viewed as the rightful heir) and that is how the collapse of the MDC-T was scripted,” Nhlanhla Moyo, a political analyst said.

During Tsvangirai’s burial, Thokozani Khupe, who was the frontrunner at law to succeed Tsvangirai was locked up in a room together with Mwonzora with a militant group under the Vanguard banner threatening to set it alight.

They chanted Chamisa’s name and hailed him as the heir to the throne.

In the ensuing melee, Khupe and Mwonzora were booed for allegedly opposing Chamisa’s rise.

The Supreme Court judgement that changed everything

In 2020, through a Supreme Court judgement in the case of little-known Eliphas Mashavira, Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri’s appointment to the post of party vice presidents was nullified forcing the party back to the congress outcome that saw Khupe as the only legitimate deputy who was qualified to take over the party after Tsvangirai’s demise.

Tsvangirai had appointed the two as his deputies in what critics described as illegal and unconstitutional as proven by the Supreme Court.

That ruling was to change the face of the MDC-T.

In December 2020, Mwonzora was to win in a disputed congress to take up the role of leader of the MDC-T and since then, the party has taken a sharp turn to oblivion.

Now the party has no representation in councils where they used to dominate and in Parliament where it used to have decorated figures in representation.

A lot has happened including the formation of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) formed by Chamisa who was initially joined by bigwigs that include Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube among others.

Due to a series of crisis, the CCC has since been divided with the party now under the control of Sengezo Tshabangu.

We are not dead, declares Mwonzora

Mwonzora is, however, clinging to the MDC-T shell and with nothing to show for it, he insists the party is not dead.

Chengetai Guta, the party’s Director of Information said the party “is on a massive organic resurgence.”

“As you may know, the MDC suffered serious internal setbacks which include but not limited to failed succession and internal strife which resulted in splits and many other undesirable repercussions. Brace yourselves for the biggest comeback in the political history of Zimbabwe,” Guta said.

“Organic political canvassing does not happen in the loftiness of party Headquarters. We are on the ground across the country raising awareness and selling our brand.”

“The MDC is probably dead in the heads of those who have always wanted to decimate it but failed. We have heard the tag for as long as we can remember. Right now, the MDC is the only standing and viable opposition in Zimbabwe by all metrics,” he said.

Despite the claims, the situation at the MRT House remains that of death.

Salaries: Mwonzora denies responsibility

Guta, an ally of Mwonzora, maintains all is well and the salaries issue is not theirs to deal with, it is a legacy issue.

“You are referring to legacy issues. The only labor-related disputes we are aware of relate to staff members who, during the period of Madam Khupe’s leadership, chose to align themselves with certain splinter groups. By taking such a position and associating themselves with those splinter formations, they effectively ceased to be part of the organization and, consequently, ceased to be our responsibility,” he said.

But in an August 2025 Judgment, the Harare Labour Court, presided over by Government Arbitrator Mercy Dare, ordered MDC-T and party Mwonzora to pay $176,465 USD (or the ZiG equivalent) to 14 former workers for failing to settle outstanding salaries.

This is on top of several other lawsuits involving Mwonzora and the MDC-T against the workers.

Over the years, furniture and movable properties at the MRT House has been repeatedly attached by the deputy sheriff following writs of execution and favorable arbitration awards won by disgruntled current and former staff.

Guta denied the MRT House now has a ghostly look, despite overwhelming evidence, saying: “Harvest House remains the administrative headquarters of the party. Staff members across the various departments, including political officers, continue to work from the premises on a daily basis. Our party structures regularly use the premises to conduct routine meetings, consultations, programs and other organizational activities.”

Whatever the case, the vibrancy that once was a permanent feature is gone, dead and so is the opposition in Zimbabwe.