The vice-president of the Thokozani Khupe faction of the Movement for Democratic Change Obert Gutu says his party will fight the Nelson Chamisa faction over the use of the party name and symbol to the very end.
Reacting to news that Chamisa is appealing a judgment by Justice Francis Bere which dismissed the application by the Chamisa faction to bar the Khupe faction from using the MDC-T name and party symbol saying it was not an urgent matter, Gutu said: “We're willing and very able to fight this matter to the very end.”
Gutu was cited as one of the respondents in the case together with Abednigo Bhebhe and Khupe.
The Chamisa faction has hired advocate Thabani Mpofu while Khupe is represented by Lovemore Madhuku.
Chamisa and his executive rubbished the judgment saying it was political.
This resulted in a backlash with some saying Chamisa was ill-advised because he could not condemn a court when he had taken the matter to court in the first place.
In his ruling, Justice Bere, however, said he had not been asked to determine the issue of legitimacy but merely the narrow issue of alleged infringement of a trade mark.
“That is not the issue that is haunting the MDC as a political organization,” he said.
Indeed it is not.
According to Gutu the issue is constitutionalism and anyone talking about the two factions re-uniting might as well believe that the sun will rise from the West.
“Anyone who thinks the MDC – T will re – unite with a group of people who are vindictive, insincere and violent might as well believe that tomorrow the sun will rise in the West and set in the East,” he said.
Below is Justice Bere’s judgment in full:
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