THE infighting currently engulfing Zanu PF is an “act of God” and a clear indication that President Robert Mugabe’s rule will end in a mess, MDC-Renewal national chairman Samual Sipepa Nkomo has said.
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“God has brought the infighting for a purpose which is to ensure Mugabe ends his rule in such a mess,” Nkomo said while addressing a joint MDC-Renewal and MDC rally at Stanley Square, Makokoba, in Bulawayo on Sunday.
“It is not of their own making; the heavens are at work.”
Nkomo urged members to do away with party affiliation tags.
“You must co-operate as we integrate structures and if we are not careful and continue even after the August congress with people saying I belong to green (MDC) and orange (MDC-Renewal); that would be our downfall,” he said.
“We must bury the factions. The danger is if you lean too much on your current respective parties you will never unite.”
He said there would be a substantive leadership in August and it was of no significance which party the leader came from.
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“It does not matter from which party the leader comes; what is key is that we will emerge as one formidable party,” he said.
“We should not behave like Zanu PF which has a Mugabe faction, (Vice-President Emmerson) Mnangagwa faction and (Joice) Mujuru faction. We must unite to remove Mugabe’s rotten government.”
MDC secretary-general Moses Mzila Ndlovu said factionalism in Zanu PF was a clear sign that they were bowing down to pressure “from us”.
Mzila Ndlovu said the 2005 split dealt a huge blow to the democratic movement and the 15 years after the split were wasted years.
He said the split prolonged Zanu PF rule and warned that there would be no new lease of life handed to Zanu PF.
“We should admit our mistake and unite for the purpose of removing Zanu PF,” he said.
“Listen Mugabe, we are uniting to remove you because age seems not to be doing its part.”
MDC president Welshman Ncube said members should not be embroiled in fights for posts.
“We should not fight for posts and we must guard against (comparing) which party has more membership than the other,” he said.
“What is key is we must have more people than Zanu PF and that other party (MDC-T).”
MDC and MDC-Renewal signed a unification agreement and are now operating under the banner of the United MDC (UMDC).
Meanwhile, UMDC national executive official Ngqabutho Mabhena has urged Zimbabweans to start registering as voters ahead of the 2018 elections.
Mabhena said the road to 2018 had begun and appealed to Zimbabweans to rally behind the party’s “Now is the Time” theme in preparation for the polls.
“We, therefore, make this clarion call to the people of Zimbabwe: Now is the time! Now is the time to build the UMDC into a strong political formation,” he said.
“Now is the time for all Zimbabweans to swell the ranks of the UMDC by joining its political branches countrywide.
“Now is the time to end dictatorship in Zimbabwe. Now is the time to register as voters as we prepare for 2018. Now is the time for our young people to play a vanguard role in the UMDC.”
He added: “The struggle for a just and fair Zimbabwe requires leaders that will not abandon principle and our leaders have demonstrated such capacity.”
The ruling Zanu PF has already endorsed Mugabe as its presidential candidate for the 2018 despite the fact that he would be 94 years.
Zanu PF has kick-started its election campaign by dispatching supporters on door-to-door campaigns to ask residents to join the former liberation movement.
