Harare - Dumiso Dabengwa the interim Zapu leader says his party would forge ahead with holding its national congress that starts on Friday despite being served with papers stopping them from using the Zapu name, logo and flag.Agrippa Madlela who is leading the other faction of Zapu on Wednesday lodged an urgent chamber application with the Bulawayo High Court seeking an order permanently interdicting Dabengwas faction from using the party name, logo and flag in any activity which falls within the framework of their constitution.
In the court application Number HC 1662/10, Mandlela want Dabengwa to pay the costs of the suit on an attorney and client scale.
In his founding affidavit, Agrippa Hlangabeza Sheleni Madlela says he is the president of Zapu, which was registered as a political party since its revival in 1998.
It has become clear to the applicant and its leadership that the respondent and his followers are labouring under a misconception that simply because they were once members of PF-Zapu before joining Zanu-PF following the Unity Accord, they can at anytime decide to form a political party using the name Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (Zapu) even though they know fully well that the said name belongs to the applicant since about 1999, reads part of the heads of argument.
The respondents use of the applicants name and applicants party symbol of a charging black bull in his unconstitutional parallel structure is causing serious confusion among applicants members and is threatening applicants survival as a political party.
However Dabengwa told the Zimbabwean on Thursday that there was nothing that would stop the congress.
We are forging ahead with the congress nothing will stop us. We will deal with the court order later after the congress.
Dabengwa said his party would enlist the services of police to ensure that Madlela and his followers do not attend the congress.
Director for communication and marketing, Methuseli Moyo of the Dabengwa led faction said they would want to make it known that they have no intention of succumbing to childish and amateurish blackmail tactics by one Madlela, of the now defunct ZAPU Federal Party, also known as ZAPU 2000.
It comes as a surprise that they now want to give an impression that they need special treatment, simply because they purport to have a party. We have it on good authority that they have a paltry seven members in their books. ZAPU has no business negotiating with a seven-member party.
Moyo said party members should remain calm and not be bothered by Madlelas moves.
Post published in: World News