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“The stalemate within Zapu has a lot to do with a dysfunctional leadership. As we look towards the next election the party is not properly structured to organise and run a viable political programme. We have faced real leadership challenges in the past three years and that is not just a statement, but a glaring challenge,” said the 53-year-old former military leader.
“The party needs leadership renewal as a matter of urgency. Zapu cannot afford anymore to look, eat, walk and talk like Zanu-PF. This political machine needs to be led by experienced and results oriented leaders with a clear understanding of contemporary issues. Dr Dabengwa has got his own limitations. Like everyone else age has no excuse and it may now be taking its toll in his once astute leadership.”
Rtd Col Ncube, who was instrumental in the revival of Zapu in 2008, was expelled after he wrote a letter to Dr Dabengwa expressing his reservations over the manner in which the party was being run.
Among the issues raised, Rtd Col Ncube said the party’s national executive council had not met for the past three years and that the party did not have an election strategy. He also questioned the continued absence of the party’s secretary-general Mr Ralph Mguni who is based in the UK and lack of clarity pertaining to the location of the party’s headquarters.
Rtd Col Ncube’s expulsion deepened tension within Zapu with the youths in the city recently demanding Rtd Col Ncube’s reinstatement and threatening to defect en-masse to the MDC if their request was not granted.
There were also fears that the party was heading for a split amid reports that Rtd Col Ncube was working on forming a splinter party, which he denied, insisting that he was still a member of Zapu.
He said his expulsion was not credible as he was not taken through a disciplinary process and said Dr Dabengwa influenced the decision. “Zapu deliberately forgot all disciplinary processes and decided not to take me for a hearing. Dr Dabengwa has a personal interest in my career and growth in the party. On two occasions I was suspended for trivial issues only to be found innocent. On this latest one I was tried through the media. I will not move out of the party because I understand my role and what I should do for the party,” said Rtd Col Ncube, who was been a military officer since independence before retiring in 2003.
“I could have been expelled from Zapu if it was a family business or enterprise, not the political party that I have cherished and served tirelessly for the greater part of my life. I am not surprised that this decision was arrived at, agreed and finally pronounced from an absentee secretary-general’s office somewhere in the UK because no one with full knowledge of Zapu’s current challenges could have ignored the message that I had conveyed to the party president.”
Although he said he was not bitter about his expulsion, Rtd Col Ncube said he believed that the party leadership should have addressed to issues he raised instead of rushing to expel him.
He said Dr Dabengwa and his immediate leadership still owe the party membership answers to the issues that he raised in his letter three months ago.
Rtd Col Ncube accused the Zapu leadership of concentrating on less important issues and overreacting when confronted with challenges from the grassroots.
He said forming another political party would be a waste of time and vowed to continue influencing the running of the party.
Contacted for comment Dr Dabengwa said Rtd Col Ncube’s remarks were misplaced.
“He is allowed to think the way he wants. I do not want to comment on that issue. He was given the opportunity in the party and he knows exactly what needs to be done. No one owns Zapu and I did not impose myself into this post,” said Dr Dabengwa.
“Everyone knows that I wanted to be in the council of elders but people insisted that I should lead the party and for that reason I agreed. Leadership comes and goes and if the party finds another leader I would revert to the council of elders. I am not doing this for myself but for the sake of the people.”
Asked to comment on the youths’ revolt over Rtd Col Ncube’s ouster Dr Dabengwa said: “It is the youth who should steer the party. They are still young; let them express themselves. Some of us are old enough and we understand these things better and tolerate them,” he said without elaborating.
Rtd Col Ncube served in the military in various capacities as a commander, staff officer, trainer, peacekeeper and planner in international service.
Rtd Col Ncube was Zimbabwe’s liaison officer to the United Nations Mission in Somalia and served in peacekeeping missions and training in different countries in the region and overseas.
Online Reporter