Zimbabwe’s High Court on Wednesday declared Nelson Chamisa an illegitimate leader of the main opposition MDC party and ordered the movement to convene an extraordinary congress to choose a new leader after a month.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) immediately said it would appeal the ruling and that it would press on with a planned leadership congress this month where it is expected to elect Chamisa as a permanent successor to founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who died in February 2018.
Chamisa, 41, rose to become the MDC interim leader last year amid opposition from internal rivals, which split the party into two factions. He lost a presidential election to the ruling ZANU-PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, but says that poll was rigged.
High Court Judge Edith Mushore ruled that the process that took Chamisa to the helm of the MDC was unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
