Nkosi Maphosa’s comment posted on a recent facebook discussion proves the point: “Professor Ncube and the late Gibson Sibanda were being attacked for always calling in a Shona person to assume the leadership, the question was simply, “is there none amongst us who is capable?” In other words, are Ndebeles not capable of assuming top leadership?. Similar explanations have been made before in the media.
Everyone with an interest in becoming the President of Zimbabwe, as long as they meet the constitutional requirements, has a right to contest in presidential elections irrespective of their tribe. Professor Ncube meets those requirements and is therefore entitled to have a go at the presidency. But when people talk about tribes in connection with election of leaders, in my opinion that qualifies as tribal politics.
Nkosi’s contribution to the debate proves beyond doubt the tribal interests that led to a plot to overthrow Professor Mutambara from the helm of the party. Professor Ncube and the late Gibson Sibanda indicated well before the party’s elective congress that they were going to field a Ndebele candidate in national presidential elections. It is, therefore, unbelievable for anyone to deny the tribal agenda behind the election of Professor Ncube to President.
An interesting observation, though, is why the Ndebele people were treating themselves as separate from the rest of Zimbabwe, leading to the attacks on Professor Ncube and Sibanda. If Nkosi’s statement is to be trusted, Professor Ncube and Sibanda called Morgan Tsvangirai and Professor Mutambara to lead the MDC.
The people of Zimbabwe must vote for a person who is confident in themselves. In an exclusive interview with the Independent on July 22, 2012, Professor Ncube said he was not capable of winning an election as the President of Zimbabwe, and wished for, “a chance for his party to play the kingmaker role after the next elections”.
Zimbabwe is tired of Zanu (PF) rule. Zanu (PF), therefore, has to be stopped from winning the coming election at all costs. No new leader outside Zanu (PF), be it Professor Ncube, Dr. Makoni or Dr. Tsvangirai, will be a dictator like Mugabe.
Let the Professor settle for third position in the coming elections as per his own wish, but my appeal to all anti-dictatorship Zimbabweans is to remove the dictator.
If Mugabe and Zanu (PF) get back into power, that will be the end for Zimbabweans as the next elections will not monitored by SADC. Morgan Tsvangirai, according to opinion surveys, is the only person with a chance of beating the dictator, the same way he did in the March 2008 free and fair election. – Benjamin Chitate, New Zealand
Post published in: Letters to the Editor