PROFILE THREAD: Douglas Togarasei Mwonzora
Know yo leaders

1/ Here is a profile on @DMwonzora. I hv done one for @nelsonchamisa
@Wamagaisa @ShingiMunyeza @fortunechasi @TamukaKagoro77 @BitiTendai @TembaMliswa @GomoDubi @GNyambabvu @Chofamba @Auzqn @TichRay @xandatoto

2/ Mwonzora is the current Secretary General of the MDCT. Popularly referred to as SG, by his mates, he was elected SG at 2014 congress held in Hre, beating Nelson Chamisa who was also vying for the same post.
B4 this Mwonzora was the MDC secretary for information

3/ Douglas Mwonzora has a long history in Zimbabwe's national politics and student politics
@lashiasn @SibandaSibbs @PastorEvanLive @larry_moyo @ShingiMunyeza @chitaganya @Busisa74 @BrezhMalaba @violetgonda @vincemusewe @mayor_justice

4/ He rose to national prominence when he & 2 others co-chaired COPAC, an interpolitical party committee that led the development of Zimbabwe's current constitution. Mwonzora, Paul Mangwana (ZanuPF) & Edward Mukhosi (MDC) led COPAC which delivered Zimbabwe's constitution in 2013

5/ Interesting, Mwonzora & Mangwana hv an interesting history I shall come to later. @nickmangwana At age 49, he had been practicing law for many years. He is also the Shadow Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for the MDCT

6/ In the MDCT, Mwonzora became a pillar of support for Tsvangirai in 2014 after the party fragmented, with @BitiTendai @ Mangoma leaving to form the Renewal Team after the so-called Mandel Rebellion. Mwonzora organised a rally outside Harvest House to drum support for Morgan

7/ At that rally, Mangoma was assaulted by some youths. 9 youths were arrested, amd Mwonzora represented them in court, and they were all acquitted. Mwonzora also successfully represented Tsvangirai when the Renewal team took him to the High Court over assets among other issues

8/ Mwonzora has been arrested many times. In 2011 he was charged for public violence & detained at Mutare, but was later acquitted.
Mwonzora was also arrested in 2009 for insulting Mugabe. He was charged for undermining the office of the President after calling Mugabe a Goblin

9/ Mwonzora appealed to the ConCourt, alleging violation of his rights. In clearing Mwonzora, the court said: "State did not fully understand what constituted a crime of undermining the Office of the President in terms of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act."

10/ Mwonzora's utterances at a rally that got him into trouble were:
“Mugabe chikwambo uye achamhanya. Ndawona Mugabe achigeza tauro muchuwuno, sipo muhapwa uye ndebvu hwapepe. Pamberi neMDC pasi nechihurumende chembavha.
(Mugabe is a goblin and will run).

11/ During the 2011 arrest, Mwonzora had a rally in Nyanga that was disrupted by Zanu PF youths. When he asked police for help, they refused. They later arrested him for public violence & later brought charges of insulting Mugabe while he was in remand prison

12/ The later charge was caused by what had happened when he went to seek police help. He was accused of having walked close to Mugabe's portrait in the police station & saying: "Makadii baba. Rakadii ziso?"
Charamba had claimed Mugabe was going to Singapore for an eye operation

13/ In 2008, Mwonzora was elected MP for Nyanga North. During that yr, ZANU PF challenged the results of 33 constituencies won by the MDCT. Mwonzora represented the 33 MDC MPs whose election was and won
He later lost the seat to Hubert Nyanhongo in the 2013 elections

14/ In 2003, Mwonzora was a senior law lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University. He was suspended by the University for insulting Mugabe

Mwonzora also taught law at the University of Zimbabwe.

15/ Mwonzora was part of the team (together with Madhuku and others) that created the NCA draft constitution that won the NO vote during the referendum in 2000
He led the No Vote campaign in Manicaland and the province recorded the highest No Votes in Zimbabwe

16/In 1998, Mwonzora was a founding member of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). He was as a Committee Member in the NCA National Task Force Chaired by Tsvangirai

17/ Prior to the well-known NCA draft/Kariba draft/Chidyausiku draft and finally COPAC constitution, Mwonzora had drafted another proposed new constitution in 1994 together with Justice Sansole and Kempton Makamure. They gave this draft to Mugabe who rejected it.

18/ Mwonzora started working with Morgan Tsvangirai decades ago in 1992 when he joined the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions as a legal adviser. Tsvangirai was the ZCTU secretary general.

19/ Mwonzora's most significant case he won as a lawyer was when he challenged constitutionality of Political Parties Finance Act in the S/Court. He won the case on 30 September 1997. Ever since that judgment, political parties with MPs receive state funding (see details below)

20/The first person to ever challenge Mugabe's one party state desire in Zanu PF was Edgar Tekere, who was the secretary general. Mugabe got Tekere fired from ZANU in dramatic fashion. Tekere then formed Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), Mwonzora joined Zim in 2000

21/ Upon joining ZUM in 2000, Mwonzora was elected Secretary for Legal Affairs for Harare Province, then later spokesman of ZUM, & later Presidential Spokesman for Tekere.

He drafted the ZUM Constitution for which he was arrested & detained at Whawha Prison for nearly 10 days

22/ Mwonzora was one of the student leaders at the University of Zimbabwe during the Arthur Mutambara era who fought against Mugabe's one party state desires - during the time of Enock Chikweche (now Munyaradzi Gwisai), Edgar Mbwembwe, Sikhumbuzo Sibanda and others

23/ He was 1 of the leaders of the "October 4 Revolution" in 1989 at the UZ when students rioted demanding the release of detained student leaders (including Mutambara). This led to the closure of the UZ. The demos were against corruption & the one party state issue @dewamavhinga

24/ A bar in the Students Union Building at the UZ was later named October 4 because of that riot. The bar was eventually closed by Levy Nyagura when he became the Vice Chancellor & started treating the UZ like a high schol

25/ When the UZ was closed, Mwonzora was abducted by CIOs in a yellow Peugeot 504, in the high density suburbs while chatting with sendiraini folks drinking the then so-named shake shake. He was taken to Whawha prison and detained for days

27/ Mwonzora, Mutambara, & others were later invited to State House. In the meeting, Mugabe pretended to listen to their grievances. Shamuyarira was then minister of tertiary education. The meeting was for 9am, but Mugabe delayed the meeting till after 4pm just to make them wait

28/ In the meeting, they accused Mugabe of protecting corrupt people. Those were the times when Willowgate scandal was hot news everywhere and cabinet ministers were implicated. Some of them who were convicted like Frederick Shave were later given a lifeline by Mugabe

29/ Facing allegations of protecting corrupt pple, Mugabe told the students to bring evidence of corruption if they had it. He also kept saying - I can't fire pple becoz they r innocent until proven guilt.

Mugabe'd said he cld not collapse his gvt bcoz pple were stealing cars

EDUCATION
30/ Mwonzora studied law at the University of Zimbabwe (LLBS).

He also studied for an MBA at the University of Zimbabwe's Graduate School of Management from 2006-8. He has also been invited to teach (visiting lecturer) at universities in other countries like Italy

RELATIONSHIP WITH PAUL MANGWANA
31/ Before they worked together at COPAC as co-chairs, Mwonzora & Mangwana had worked together at Mangwana's law firm in Chinhoi.

Mangwana later fired Mwonzora from the law firm

32/ So what led to Mangwana firing Mwonzora? @nickmangwana

What happened is that Mangwana went away on leave, leaving Mwonzora in charge of the law firm. In his absense, Dr Abel Tendekai Muzorewa visited the law firm asking a lawyer to take the case.

33/ Muzorewa of UANC wanted to challenge the Political Parties Finances Act on constitutional grounds.

In Mangwana's absense, Mwonzora took the case. Muzorewa promptly paid all fees (he was cash rich), settling a down payment of about $75000, a princely sum in those days.

34/ The case received big media coverage. At the first hearing, Mwonzora was interviewed by Rueben Barwe and the case got prime time TV coverage.

Mangwana who was away on holiday saw the news. At first, he had no issue with the case.

35/ Mud started hitting the fan when Mangwana started getting angry calls from Webster Shamhu, Nathan Shamuyarira and most menacingly from Enos Chikowore. They were all questioning why his firm was representing Muzorewa against the government

36/ Mangwana was left with no choice but to fire Mwonzora.

Mwonzora packed his bags, took his files including the Muzorewa case and set up his own law firm. He proceeded with the Supreme Court challenge

37/ Patrick Chinamasa, then the attorney general, was representing the government. Supreme Court judges on the case were Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, Justice McNally, Justice Korsah and Justice Muchechetere.

On 30 September 1997, Mwonzora beat Chinamasa on the case

38/ Since that judgment, political parties with MPs receive funding from the government

Mwonzora & Mangwana have since worked together on COPAC, delivering Zimbabwe's first post-Lancaster House constitution.

Controversies
39/ Mwonzora's controversies relate to all the cases he has been arrested for, mainly insulting the President - highlighted in the thread above.

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