Leadership row rocks ex-Judge’s party

Issued Mbira ouster statement … Moses Chamboko

Paradza, now a practising lawyer in New Zealand, is party interim vice president while Farai Mbira has been interim leader since launch.

However, the little known opposition has hit turbulent times after a group of politicians aligned to Paradza announced on Wednesday that they had ousted Mbira for alleged dictatorial tendencies.

The group accuses the party’s founding leader of usurping the powers of the party’s executive.

“Unfortunately, Farai Mbira has demonstrated that he has his own agenda and he has been using his position in ZUNDE to pursue it, unilaterally making executive decisions without first consulting the ZUNDE team,” said the group in a statement.

“Zimbabwe has seen too much of that style of leadership and ZUNDE will never accept it. Our leadership team recognises that the time has come for ZUNDE and Farai Mbira to part ways.

“His appointment as Interim President of ZUNDE has been withdrawn with immediate effect and he is no longer authorised to speak or act for ZUNDE.

“We thank him for his past contributions and wish him well as he goes off in his own direction to pursue his own goals.”

Mbira’s ouster was immediately countered by another party camp which said it was “endorsing” his leadership while disowning the other group of “infiltrators and fugitives”.

This was after the pro-Mbira camp had convened a separate meeting to chat the party’s course in the wake of the current storm.

The group identified leaders it said shall constitute the party’s executive which shall be in charge of party affairs ahead of the squabbling opposition’s elective congress.

“ZUNDE wishes to be empathic and put on record that the party in Zimbabwe has full support of President Farai Mbira and disassociate itself from this private members’ statement as no organ of the party has been involved or engaged in this private action and statement.

“We are surprised by their actions as the meeting did not seek to stand them down but strengthen the party ahead of 2018 elections.”

Mbira’s backers further accuse their rivals of “criminally, through blackmail, hijacked and seized” the party’s website which they have replaced with their own content.

“Mr Benjamin Paradza and his co-villagers and personal friends must come and face the people here in Zimbabwe.

“They can shout as much as they can but our grassroots members will not be deterred. We all know who they were and are and will not be intimated by former military intelligence operatives of the Mugabe regime.

“We will not allow them to destroy ZUNDE and present its carcass to Mugabe as a price for their re-admittance into Mugabe’s favour and regime.

“They should openly apologise to Mugabe and re-join his regime openly than to hide among us. ZUNDE provides no safe haven for corruption.

“Paradza must face his corruption conviction and clear himself than to use us and hide in ZUNDE.”