Dumiso Dabengwa who is leading the revival of Zapu has dismissed accusations that he is treating the former liberation movement as his personal project. Instead, Dabengwa has already hinted plans to retire from politics and concentrate on writing books about his experiences during the Rhodesian war and after independence when he was imprisoned by ZANU-PF.

The Zapu interim chairman says he is ready to have his credentials scrutinised at the party’s congress in May.

Dabengwa, who was speaking for the first time since six senior party officials were suspended late last year amid accusations that they had stood up to his alleged dictatorial tendencies, maintained that the revival of Zapu remained on course.

Zapu announced last week that it would hold its inaugural congress in May, a year after it formally withdrew from the 22-year-old Unity Accord with Zanu PF.

The split came amid dissatisfaction in Matabeleland over the way President Robert Mugabe was implementing the deal.

The suspended Zapu members who included Evans Ndebele, the owner of the now defunct ZEX Airlines, former Bulawayo police spokesperson Smile Dube, and former outspoken Bulawayo councillor Alderman Charles Mpofu accused Dabengwa
of perpetuating the Zanu PF culture.

But the former Zipra intelligence supremo says there is no room for dictatorship in Zapu because there were checks and balances to prevent power from being concentrated in an individual.

He said the Council of Elders, a body that consists of members aged 65 and above, holds leaders accountable at every level.

“The role of the council was defined by congress to be that of guiding the party, and to ensure that there is discipline in the party,” Dabengwa a,former Zanu PF politburo member, said.

“One would expect that if I was the so-called dictator I would by now have been brought before the disciplinary committee by the Council of Elders of  Zapu.

“The comparison with Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched because in the first place no one in Mugabe’s party can even think of disciplining him.

“In Zapu the Council of Elders has authority to discipline even the chairman or president.”

The veteran politician who caused a stir when he abandoned Zanu PF on the eve of the March 2008 presidential elections to support Simba Makoni who was an independent candidate said although there were cases of indiscipline in Bulawayo, they were exaggerated by the media.

He added: “The party, like all institutions, be they political, religious, social or business, has had incidents of misconduct by a few members, such as our Bulawayo province which has had to deal with a matter within its area, and only to refer it to the national interim executive if they have any problem sorting out the disciplinary issue.

“The chaos is not there at all. It is an invention of the media, some of whom are hostile to Zapu,  of course.”

The May congress will culminate in the election of a substantive leadership from all levels, which means Zapu might have a new leader to represent it in next year’s elections.

Those challenging Dabengwa’s leadership say he must make way to youthful leaders who can give Zanu PF and the two MDC formations a run for their money.

Although Dabengwa did not rule out chances that he would lead the party in the next elections if he is nominated, he said he would have preferred to retire from active politics.

“If I had my way, after the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and concentrate on my ambition to write my book or books on my 70 years’ experiences, as a young boy, during the struggle, in prisons both before and after Independence, and about my involvement and contribution in the development of the our country since Independence,” Dabengwa said.

He said the party would be ready for next year’s elections and has already set up structures across the country.

Full interview:

In May last year Zapu announced that it was pulling out of the Unity Accord with Zanu PF over disagreements on the way the agreement was being implemented.

Zapu effectively became the most vibrant opposition party after Zanu PF and the MDC formations formed a unity government.However, the revival of the former liberation movement has not been smooth sailing and Standard’s Senior Reporter Nkululeko Sibanda (NS) last week interviewed Zapu interim chairman Dumiso Dabengwa and asked him about the various challenges facing the party. Below are the excerpts.

NS: How far have you gone with the revival of Zapu since the announcement of the pullout from Zanu PF in May last year?

DD: Zapu started its workshops outreach programmes after our congress in May. We started in August this year. We divided our programme into phases, starting with provincial workshops. All the provinces held and completed their workshops by end of October. The workshops looked into three main themes, namely, amendment of the Zapu constitution, the Zapu policy, the Zapu ideology, and our mobilisation strategy. We also took the opportunity during our workshops to mobilise our members to give their views during the outreach programme for the proposed new constitution. Presenters on the themes were people selected from among the Zapu Council of Elders, the interim executive and experts drawn from our membership. The second phase was the districts and branches workshops, starting from last November and is on course and has spilled over to this year and is set to be completed by March. The response has been very encouraging, in particular the injection of new ideas mainly from the youths, who are participating in a very meaningful way. As interim chairman, I have addressed some of the workshops, such as the Harare one, which encompassed the three Mashonaland provinces, Manicaland and Harare. I also attended the joint Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South workshop, and also addressed the Masvingo workshop, which included district representatives from the province. I also attended and addressed the Midlands workshop in Gweru, which also included delegates from some of the districts. I also attended the Matabeleland North inter-district workshop and later on went to address the Binga district workshop. The workshop sessions have been very educative.Whilst we thought we would be guiding the people on what the party and nation should be doing, we ourselves had a lot of lessons to learn. The contributions we got from all areas bore testimony to the political maturity among our people. We are clear from what we got from the people at the workshops what exactly the people want.

NS: Some of your critics in the party say you have not addressed any meeting since the congress and they suggest this has killed the momentum created after they announcement that you were leaving Zanu PF.

DD: In October last year when we discussed our party programme and resolved as the executive that workshops and the formulation of structures was our priority so as to re-establish the nucleus of Zapu in all the provinces and
districts. Some people felt this could be done in tandem with public
meetings but we felt, and I felt as much that we should concentrate on the workshops. However, we agreed also that where public meetings were to be addressed, party procedures for booking meetings should be followed in order to avoid chaos, where anyone in the party find themselves booking meetings without the authority or knowledge of the relevant party structures and authorities.

All provinces are currently in the second phase of conducting
district/branch workshops and this is an ongoing exercise countrywide

NS: There are reports of disturbances at Zapu meetings especially in Bulawayo. Could this not be an indication that the party is in turmoil?

DD: Zapu has not been rocked by any disturbances. The party, like all institutions, be they political, religious, social or business, has had incidents of misconduct by a few members, such as our Bulawayo province which has had to deal with a matter within its area, and only to refer the matter to the national interim executive if they have any problem for sorting out the disciplinary issue. The chaos is not there at all. It is an invention of the media, some of whom are hostile to Zapu, of course.

NS: Is it not that the indiscipline could be as a result of some members having lost faith in you as a leader?

DD: I am sure that if the party has lost faith in me they will express that feeling or decision at the Zapu congress scheduled for May this year, wherein delegates will elect substantive leadership.

I don’t have time to go about dispelling rumours, particularly this one. I will not as leader of Zapu respond to criticism on me done through the press, by unnamed people who I am not even sure if they are members of Zapu or they exist in the first place. All Zapu members are free to present criticism about me or any other party leader at rightful party platforms.

NS: What tangible progress has Zapu achieved since breaking away from Zanu PF?

DD: Tangible areas that have been covered by my interim executive since our election at the Zapu convention in December 2008 have been to convene a successful Special Zapu Congress in May 2009 and to implement what congress mandated us to do, that is to identify and reactivate Zapu structures throughout the country and to prepare to convene a full party congress within a year, which we are doing right now.

NS: It has been suggest that you are a dictator and your run Zapu like your personal property?

DD: One of the innovations that we came up with in reorganising Zapu was to create a Council of Elders, consisting of members aged 65 and above. There is a council of elders at all levels of the party. The role of the council was defined by congress to be that of guiding the party, and to ensure that there is discipline in the party. The council of elders is also responsible for conducting elections at all levels of the party.

One would expect that if I was the so-called dictator I would by now have been brought before the disciplinary committee by the council of elders of Zapu. The comparison with Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched because in the first place no one in Mugabe’s party can even think of disciplining him. In Zapu the Council of Elders has authority to discipline even the chairman or president.

Our congress also recommended that there should be devolution of power to all provinces such that each province has authority to run its affairs in consultation with the national executive and council of elders. All these structures have their own programme and say at our executive meetings. Our decisions are collective; no one person has the final say on an issue.

NS: Is Zapu ready for elections next year considering that President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai are pushing for an early poll?

DD: Zapu is ready to participate in any election that would be called, any day now. Whilst we may not have as much resources as other parties, we have faith in our members who are prepared to sacrifice and give themselves up in order to achieve their goal. If elections were called any time, Zapu members will stand up and do everything possible to ensure that the party is able to
come out best.

NS: There are allegations ahead of your May congress that you will seek to hand pick delegates who will rubberstamp your bid to remain chairman. What is your response?

DD: As we draw towards congress, we have encouraged the provinces to work out and recommend to the Council of Elders how best the election of our party leadership should be done, such that we come out with reliable, honest, credible and committed leadership for Zapu. For instance some members in Harare have suggested that each province nominates at least two possible leaders for congress to consider. Other provinces are free to come up with their ideas. Each branch will be represented at congress, as will be each district and all provinces. So how would it be possible for anyone to handpick all those people?

NS: Do you still harbour any ambitions to lead Zapu after the May congress and will you represent the party at the next elections?

DD: If I had my way, after the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and concentrate on my ambition to write my book or books on my 70 years’ experiences, as a young boy, during the struggle, in prisons both before and after independence, and about my involvement and contribution in the development of the our country since independence.
In Zapu one does not choose to be in a position. There is no such thing as self-nomination. People nominate you. Yours is either to accept or decline the nomination. I have never and have no intention of nominating myself to contest anything.

NS: What should Zimbabweans expect from Zapu this year?

DD: Zapu is the mother of the revolution, together with ANC in South Africa, Frelimo in Mozambique, MPLA in Angola and Swapo in Namibia. Our main aim as Zapu is to reassert those values that the party had during the liberation struggle, which unfortunately we have not seen since independence. Zapu has identified a number of deviations and diversions from the goals and we are anxious to reconnect all the people of Zimbabwe to build a progressive, democratic, free and stable Zimbabwe for all the people.

(Source)