The legal foundation of Douglas Mwonzora’s leadership within the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faced a catastrophic collapse in early 2025 as the High Court delivered a landmark ruling nullifying the party’s 2022 elective congress.
This judgment followed a determined challenge by original party applicants who argued that the congress was convened in total defiance of the MDC’s own constitution.
The court, presided over by Justice Hapias Zhou, agreed with the applicants, citing severe procedural failures such as the lack of the mandatory 30-day notice period—having only provided 24 days—and the fact that the women’s assembly congress had never been concluded.
By declaring the 2022 proceedings null and void, the court effectively stripped Mwonzora of his standing as the constitutionally elected leader, leaving his presidency in a state of legal limbo despite his immediate efforts to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Compounding this leadership crisis, Mwonzora suffered a second and perhaps more symbolic defeat in a high-stakes legal battle to gain control of Harvest House (Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House), the MDC’s iconic national headquarters.
Mwonzora had sought an order to evict Shakespeare Mukoyi and his associates, claiming that as the party president, he held the rightful authority over all MDC properties.
However, the court rejected this bid to seize the headquarters from Mukoyi, who has maintained physical control of the building.
The judiciary’s refusal to grant Mwonzora an eviction order acknowledged the complex disputes over internal structures and effectively protected the status quo of those currently occupying the premises.
This failure to reclaim the administrative heart of the party has left Mwonzora as a leader without a central command post, further eroding his credibility among the party’s rank and file.
This dual failure to secure both a constitutional mandate and the physical infrastructure of the party has further marginalized Mwonzora on the political stage.
By failing to displace Shakespeare Mukoyi from the headquarters or overcome the challenges from the original applicants, Mwonzora’s strategy of using “lawfare” to consolidate power has reached a definitive dead end.
The rulings highlight a growing judicial consensus that leadership cannot be manufactured through procedural shortcuts or enforced through the courts when the “consent of the governed” and physical possession remain with rival factions.
For Mwonzora, the loss of Harvest House is a functional disaster, leaving the party’s most vital assets firmly outside his reach and signaling the potential end of his dominance over the MDC brand.
