DEMANDS made by MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora to induce President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stop by-elections may have blown the cover on who the chaos-monger in the opposition party has always been. Mwonzora has been in a suspiciously cosy relationship with Mnangagwa and Zanu PF ever since the March, 2020, Supreme Court ruling and their kind of romance is not one for strangers.

There has been suspicion that Mwonzora was working with the State to decimate the MDC Alliance ahead of 2023 and despite his incessant denials, his secret meeting with Mnangagwa last week and the bizarre demands he made all expose his interest in the country’s political dynamics.

He has branded himself a Mnangagwa ally, a useful one for that matter in the broader Zanu PF strategy to ultimately attain a one-party State.

His “demands” to Mnangagwa are preposterous and an affront to democratic principles. They also betray his denial of links between him and the State.

That last week he sneaked into State House without the knowledge of his deputies and other leaders shows that he is no stranger to such nicodemously-arranged meetings, hence the long-held suspicion that he was a snitch even in the days of the late Morgan Tsvangirai.

It is not anybody’s business who Mwonzora meets, where and how but it surely becomes a national concern when he meets Mnangagwa to plot further damage to an already bleeding democracy. According to reports, he wants by-elections cancelled so that Zimbabweans “find each other”. Well, dear Mwonzora, Zimbabweans keep finding you out!

Surely, a lawyer and long-time Member of Parliament should know the importance of democracy and how elections feed into a healthy democracy.

This is unpardonable, and his actions show that he has no confidence that he stands any chance in an election. It is a sad episode in Zimbabwe’s democracy and that the death knell is sounded by a person many thought was a pro-democracy campaigner keeps us wondering.

Surely, Tsvangirai should be turning in his grave to know that his secretary-general is wining and dining with Mnangagwa while plotting to have elections banned just ensure he is secure on the gravy train.

It is a betrayal of what the opposition stands for and Mwonzora, instead of subjecting himself to an election to legitimise his Stateassisted power grab by wresting seats in Parliament, runs to Mnangagwa for protection from voters.

But then, it should really not be surprising, this is after all a man who has relied on the police and army to take over the MDC Alliance headquarters, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House; received millions of dollars under the Political Parties Finance Act which he knows should have been given to another party and is bent on using State machinery to grab the MDC Alliance’s name, all in an effort to buy legitimacy.

His latest, shameful demands to Mnangagwa show that his vanity knows no bounds.