ZAPU old guards are allegedly resisting plans by party members to renew and rebrand the opposition party soon after the death of its leader Dumiso Dabengwa for fear that they could lose influential posts.
The issue was revealed by party insiders, who said despite
that the late Dabengwa mentioned before his death that the party needed
leadership renewal, the Zapu old guard is stalling the process.
Zapu will hold its extraordinary congress in 2021. The
party postponed its elective congress initially scheduled for August owing to
COVID-19 restrictions.
Dabengwa died in May 2019. He was declared a national hero,
but was buried at his family homestead in Ntabazinduna.
Before his death, Dabengwa had revealed plans that he was
not going to stand for re-election, saying there was need for leadership
renewal and rebranding of the party in order to strengthen it.
His wish was to ensure that Zapu appealed particularly to
the youth, as the party continued to lose in national elections.
However, party insiders said this put him at loggerheads
with the old guard who opposed the rebranding.
“There has been for years now a call for rebranding Zapu as
a party in order to align it with the current dictates and political
environment, but this was resisted by the old guard who feared to have a young
leadership at the helm of the party,” a source, who requested anonymity, said.
“However, Dabengwa supported the rebranding before he
passed on, including some party heavyweights such as Isaac Mabuka, while others
dismissed the call as being fuelled by hunger for power by Young Turks within
the party,” he said.
Mabuka, who is acting party president, has already
announced that he will not be contesting for any leadership post.
Under the rebranding exercise, the Zapu’s old guard was
supposed to be redeployed to the party’s council of elders — a structure which
is common in several political parties in Africa and elsewhere in the world —
to guide the party’s ideological and policy agenda, among others.
When contacted for comment, Zapu spokesperson Iphithule
Maphosa did not deny or confirm the allegations. Maphosa spent time with
Dabengwa during his last days when he sought treatment in South Africa.
“We had very deep conversations about politics and about
Zapu in particular. Dabengwa had this wish to renew the party. He always
emphasised it whenever we discussed the future of the party,” Maphosa said.
“He used to say he would be happy to hand over the
leadership to a contemporary mind, one who will turn around Zapu through a
process of reform and to reposition as well as redefine its policies in line
with the evolving political environment,” he said.
Several party bigwigs that include the incumbent
secretary-general Strike Mkandla, treasurer-general Mark Mbaiwa, Matabeleland
South chairperson Matthew Sibanda and Maphosa are reportedly eyeing the Zapu
presidency. Newsday
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