The group was expelled in November 2022 after opposing
Nkomo’s election in 2021. They are also seeking reinstatement to revive the
party, which they claim is deteriorating under Nkomo’s leadership.
The Mat South Five – Gideon Dlamini, Echem Nkala, Matthew
Sibanda, Ernest Ndlovu and Mildred Mkandla – were senior party members who
served ZAPU at various provincial and national levels since 2011.
They argue that Nkomo, the son of ZAPU’s founding leader
Joshua Nkomo, used his father’s legacy to secure votes at the 2021 congress
despite lacking qualifications.
The group also raised concerns over alleged irregularities
in Nkomo’s election, citing that he received 121 votes, although only 105
delegates were registered.
Efforts to address their grievances within the party were
dismissed, leading to their expulsion and a court challenge in June 2023.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mkandla, the party’s
former National Secretary for Education and Training, emphasised the need for a
court decision to determine their future in the party, while stressing the urgency of resolving the case to either
revive ZAPU or pursue other political paths.
“Having been expelled from the party, we still wanted to
continue and get our case heard. On 12 March 2024, we went to the High Court,
hoping for a judgement within a few days or a month, but as of 25 September
2024, we have not heard anything,” Mkandla said.
She added that the court’s judgement would determine their
next steps, saying, “People are asking many questions that depend on the
court’s ruling. Whether we move forward or backward depends on this judgement.”
“Because of that, we said, ‘maybe the only thing that we
can do now is to call a press conference and make people understand who are
coming from where we are going and why we are disgruntled,” Mkandla added.
Mkandla added that the group had also written a letter to
the Registrar at the High Court this year but they were advised that such
correspondence must be done by their lawyers.
“We were told that we should not write directly to the
Registrar. Our lawyers wrote the letter and when the response came back, the
court officials said they had not heard anything but would upload the judgement
when it comes through, if any, and that is what made us really angry,” Mkandla
said, expressing anger over the court’s lack of a clear answer.
“The court said they would upload the judgement ‘if any,’
and that made us really angry. How can they say ‘if any’? There’s a possibility
there may be no judgement at all.”
She criticised Nkomo’s leadership, claiming ZAPU was
deteriorating under his control. “In the meantime, Sibangilizwe is carrying on,
and we’ve worked so hard in this party. It’s a pity to see it die because of
incompetence,” she remarked.
Sibanda, the former Matabeleland South chairperson, echoed
Mkandla’s concerns, pointing to a lack of party activities and structures under
Nkomo’s leadership.
“That’s why ZAPU is dying. A party cannot function without
activities or structures everywhere. ZAPU members are crying foul, and we want
to revive those structures,” he said.
Both Mkandla and Sibanda criticised Nkomo for leveraging
his father’s legacy.
“Sibangilizwe used his father’s name to garner support.
When we said he doesn’t qualify, other people in the party claimed he qualified
while he was still in his mother’s womb,” Mkandla claimed.
ZAPU Secretary General, Mthulisi Hanana, responded to the
Mat South Five’s accusations, acknowledging they were senior ZAPU leaders who
helped craft the party’s constitution and were unhappy that the same
constitution was implemented on them.
“When the party’s direction did not align with their
ambitions, they opposed the very principles they once stood for. Congress is
supreme, and their dissatisfaction does not change that. They know about their
expulsion because they are the ones who wrote the constitution that was
implemented on them and their expulsion is not questionable,” Hanana said.
Hanana expressed the party’s willingness to wait for the
court ruling, adding that ZAPU is a revolutionary party that understands there
are political differences within.
“We have not been engaged by erstwhile comrades to have any
form of discussion, we are engaging through lawyers and the courts. Unless and
until the court is finalised this is how we are going to be engaging,” he said.
The ZAPU SG further criticised the group’s actions,
stating, “They lack the moral and intellectual capacity to determine who is
competent within ZAPU.”
“The way they’ve handled this matter shows a lack of
critical thinking and political judgement,” Hanana said. CITE
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