Cyril Ndebele's announcement that he was the new Zapu president reflects growing concern among Zapu stalwarts about the future of the party.
The defunct liberation movement was revived in 2008 after sharp differences over policy and increasing repression in Zanu (PF). Dumiso Dabengwa and other war veterans from his Ndebele ethnic group revived Zapu saying they felt betrayed by Zanu (PF).
Now the revived Zapu has split into two factions.
Ndebele, a former speaker of parliament between 1995 and 2000, accused main Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa of being undemocratic, fanning ethnic tensions and making a naked grab for power. He said a new party had been formed, and consultations were still under way to set up structures countrywide. He said they had served Dabengwa with "divorce papers".
The resolution was made at an extraordinary meeting held in Hurungwe on June 25.
The idea was first mooted after the Zapu congress held in Bulawayo last year in August.
The vice president of the splinter group, Canciwell Nziramasanga used to be Zapu deputy president before the congress and lost to Emilia Mukaratirwa. Ndebele himself used to be leader of the Zapu Council of Elders but was removed by Dabengwa and replaced by Thenjiwe Lesabe.
Analysts say the new party will probably be short-lived. Emergence of a new party has increased concerns about whether Zapu is capable of fulfilling its promises to win an election and take the country to prosperity and greater democracy.
Nziramasanga said many Zapu cadres were already leaving to join the established opposition Zapu party.
"I have said to my comrades, we cannot leave Zapu. We are Zapu because we are committed to the policies and principles of Zapu," he said. "The current leadership have shown that they are not Zapu. Zapu members must find a way to strengthen democracy in this country," Nziramasanga said.
Methuseli Moyo said the new outfit cannot lay claim to the name Zapu.
"We have legal title to that name," he said, adding that Nziramasanga was a disgruntled loser. He rejected tribalism allegations.
Post published in: News