The new party is led by Matthew Sibanda, one of five former senior ZAPU officials from Matabeleland South who were expelled in 2022 for opposing the candidacy of Sibangilizwe Nkomo, son of the late ZAPU founding leader Joshua Nkomo, in the party’s presidential race.
The group, commonly referred to as the “Mat South Five” comprising Sibanda, Gideon Dlamini, Echem Nkala, Ernest Ndlovu and Mildred Mkandla accused Nkomo of leveraging his father’s legacy to secure votes at the 2021 congress despite lacking the necessary credentials.
The five had served ZAPU in various provincial and national capacities since 2011.
However, they were expelled in November 2022 after raising concerns about irregularities in Nkomo’s election, alleging that Nkomo garnered 121 votes, even though only 105 delegates were registered to vote.
After their concerns were dismissed internally, the group sought legal recourse in June 2023 but the Bulawayo High Court upheld Nkomo’s nomination and confirmed his presidency of ZAPU.
Despite the legal setback, Sibanda, now interim president of O ZAPU, insisted that their goal was not to create a new political party but to restore the original ZAPU, which he claimed had strayed from its founding principles under Nkomo’s leadership.
“In fact, we are not forming a new party. We are reviving the original ZAPU because the party’s constitution was violated when Sibangilizwe took over the presidency,” Sibanda said during the launch held last Saturday in Bulawayo.
Sibanda argued that ZAPU had lost direction and relevance under Nkomo’s tenure.
“During the previous elections, the party failed to field candidates for both council and parliamentary seats in Bulawayo. Even the president himself did not contest,” he noted.
Sibanda pledged that O ZAPU would institute reforms and prioritise national development if elected into power.
“We will focus on infrastructure development and revamping the country’s ailing healthcare system,” he stated.
Sibanda also insisted Nkomo’s leadership as ZAPU president was illegitimate, claiming he was not a registered party member at the time of his election and had never held any official position within the party structures.
“I was ZAPU’s chairperson for Matabeleland South, and I can confirm that Sibangilizwe was not in any structures in the province. The ZAPU constitution is very clear, one must rise through the ranks, from branch level to national, to be eligible for leadership,” he said.
He went further to accuse Nkomo of forging his party credentials to qualify for the 2021 presidential contest.
“Sibangilizwe was simply imposed because he is the son of the party’s late commander,” Sibanda claimed.
The launch of O ZAPU was attended by Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) vice president Sibongile Banda and the party’s Secretary for Legal Affairs, Nkosilathi Khanye.
Some ZAPU delegates from all ten provinces also attended the event while Stylish Magida was introduced as the interim Secretary General of the new formation.