ANALYSIS|MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s reputation lay hanging in a balance yesterday after he was exposed for refusing to assist as his top right hand man and National Executive member, Morgan Komichi faced a torturous arrest warrant for the 2013 so called NIKUV election fraud. This came within 24hours of his own party spokesperson Obert Gutu openly praising Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and former ZANU PF MP, ZEC chairperson Rita Makarau as an honest, professional person although she is the same who presided over the 2013 sham elections for which their own officer Komichi is spuriously charged.
 
Tsvangirai who during a recorded video interview, responded on Komichi’s case saying he has all the evidence to defend but will rather fight back by ‘writing a book’, has been blasted for gross negligence as a leader who could have saved Komichi but has now chosen to sit back for reasons best known to himself.
 

A warrant of arrest was yesterday issued by Harare Provincial Magistrate, Vakai Chikwekwe for the arrest of Morgan Komichi, who is accused of fraud and contravening the Electoral Act.
 
Komichi’s appeal against conviction and sentence was dismissed by the High Court of Zimbabwe after he failed to file heads of argument as requested.
 
He was sentenced to perform 350 hours of community service at Mabelreign Polyclinic, Harare in November 2013.
 
The community service was suspended in December 2013 after Komichi successfully appealed to the High Court for a review of the case.
 
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai in responding to questions on a massive vote rigging expose by ZimEye.com which the MDC leader could have utilised in Komichi’s cause, said he pulled out of the court lawsuit for fraud despite him having a boulder of evidence but he would fight rather by “writing a book” on what happened in July 2013 in which he “exposes” the use of the army and the CIO in utilising the Israeli NIKUV software to rig the elections.
 
The MDC leader even announced that he absolves Rita Makarau and her ZEC team of rigging the electiion rigging.  Mr Tsvangirai has said that ZEC chairperson Judge Rita Makarau cannot be blamed for many things such as printing of ballot papers and the distortions in the voters’ roll.
 
In a highly gripping oration, Tsvangirai  explained on his opinion on why the MDC failed to win the just ended election which loss he also blames on the Chinese Communist party. He said the blame for the printing of fake ballot papers could not be laid on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission but rather on the army and (CIO) Central Intelligence Organisation.
“Not even ZEC could control those ballot papers,” he said.
 
He added:
 
“There were three million extra ballot papers put in the system especially in Manicalanad, in Matebeleland and in Masvingo where the MDC has very substantial representation,” he said.
 
Even Makarau Did Not Have Voters’ Roll
 
On voter registration records, Tsvangirai added that the army was in control and “even Makarau did did not have access to the electronic voters’ roll. Even the voters roll itself right up to the end even the chairperson of ZEC did not have access to the electronic voters’ roll one day before the election; Even right up to the end.”
 
“The other area was the question of the youth militia. The Chinese Communist party trained 35,000 youth militia who were deployed in various military bases, I can give you the figures but in Inkomo there so many youths. In Bharabhara there were so many youths and this there were so many youths. What was the purpose of the youth militia was actually to mark extra ballots, to stuff them and to move those youths around the country.
 
“The other area was the question of traditional leaders. Traditional leaders were used to frog march people in their various villages. By saying this village is going to vote from time to that time, the next village is going to vote from this time to that time. And the role of traditional leaders was very effective on the ground to undermine the people.
 
“The other issue was the question of assisted voters. I know in Muzarabani there were 10,500 assisted voters in a voting population of 17,000. Even teachers and headmasters claimed ignorance about voting. When it comes to the question of the deployment of military leaders we now are aware that each province had a commanding officer and that at every voting station, every registration centre there was either a CIO, a ZANU PF activist and all. Now lets look to ZEC itself. ZEC was not an independent body.
 
“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission did not control anything because everything was controlled by the military and by the CIO.
 
“Right (now) as I speak the ZEC does not know the total number of the people who voted. That was the basis of our electoral challenge. We withdrew it because they would not give us the full details of those people who voted and the outcome of the voted, ” Tsvangirai said, clearing the ZEC of all and any wrong-doing in the election fraud.