The congress resolved that Zapu withdraws from the Unity Accord with
Zanu-PF forthwith and that the party political structures cease to
operate under the title Zanu-PF and resume the title ZAPU.
We agreed that an inventory of the properties illegally confiscated by
the Zanu-PF government be made and all legal means will be pursued to
recover the properties, Dumiso Dabengwa, the Zapu chairman said.
The special congress was held at Mzilikazi’s McDonald Hall, five months
after disgruntled Zanu PF heavy weights initiated the breakaway and was
attended by about 1000 delegates.
The properties, which were run by Nitram Holdings, include buildings
such as Magnet House, the regional headquarters of the Central
Intelligence Organisation, Davies Hall which houses Zanu PF regional
offices, Castle Arms Motel, and several companies and farms.
The properties were purchased through contributions by former Zipra fighters from their 1980-demobilisation payouts.
After the unity accord in 1987, President Robert Mugabe refused to hand
back the PF Zapu properties seized in 1982 during the height of
Gukurahundi in Matabeleland and Midlands.
In 2004, Zanu PF claimed the properties had been returned to PF Zapu,
but this was denied by its former leaders who said the properties were
in the hands of third parties linked to the ruling party.
Delegates to the Zapu congress agreed that the party's interim
executive remains in office to carry out a restructuring exercise, to
establish sub-committees to review the party constitution, party
policies and procedures.
The congress resolved that an interim council of the Elders made of
persons over 60 years be established at all levels to advise and give
guidance and to recommend that it be a permanent feature of the party
constitution.
Zapu was founded by the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo in December
1961 and along Zanu PF prosecuted the country’s liberation war.
The party was forced into the Unity Accord after the North Korean
trained 5 Brigade launched an assault on people in its strongholds of
Matabeleland and the Midlands, where more than 20 000 civilians were
killed for supporting Zapu.
The marriage was characterized by bickering over the old Zanu PF’s
refusal to fulfill commitments it made in the agreement such as
rotating the party’s leadership, changing party symbols and giving
equal opportunities to cadres from Zipra and Zanla, their former
military wings.
By Natasha Hove
Post published in: News