ZAPU President Sibangilizwe Nkomo has warned that any attempt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule beyond 2028 will face strong resistance, reported <a href="https://cite.org.zw/zim-will-become-ungovernable-if-you-extend-stay-in-office-mnangagwa-warned/">CITE</a>.
While categorically rejecting support for a coup, Nkomo said ZAPU demands fair and transparent elections in 2028, adding that Mnangagwa must step down once his second and final term ends.
Speaking to journalists in Bulawayo, Nkomo condemned Mnangagwa’s efforts to prolong his presidency, labelling them as “the grandfather of all illegalities.” He said:
<blockquote>
Mnangagwa sneaked into power on the back of a military coup in 2017 and now seeks to extend his rule by staging another coup against the constitution of Zimbabwe. It is a treasonous ambition that no patriotic Zimbabwean should entertain.
</blockquote>
Nkomo asserted that since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, ZANU PF has consistently taken the country’s citizens for granted. He said:
<blockquote>
Our considered view is that this chicanery dates back to 1980 when Zanu stole the people’s votes after we attained our independence from colonial rule.
ZANU PF chose to replace the colonial regime, inspired and instructed by the Rhodesian era and continues to take the citizens of Zimbabwe for granted. The people, along with ZAPU and even the ancestors, are fed up.
</blockquote>
Nkomo dismissed the ZANU PF national conference held in Bulawayo in October 2024, where delegates resolved to extend Mnangagwa’s presidential term from 2028 to 2030, declaring that only those who profit from death and suffering are advocating for such a move. He said:
<blockquote>
We categorically reject claims that Zimbabweans wish to endure more suffering beyond 2028. Only the merchants of death and suffering can agitate for the extension of Mr Mnangagwa’s presidential term even by a week.
His first term, powered by a military coup, and the second one, secured from a stolen mandate in August 2023, have been disastrous enough for the people.
There is no vision that Mr Mnangagwa is presiding over. There is no iota of evidence to suggest that in 2030, Zimbabwe will provide upper-middle income for ordinary Zimbabweans.
</blockquote>
Nkomo said any attempt by President Mnangagwa to extend his rule beyond 2028 will face the resistance “it rightfully deserves.”
<blockquote>
Mnangagwa’s administration will see a side of us they have never witnessed before. We will take the lead in making this country ungovernable as long as there is no electoral mandate from the people.
We will only respect the will of the people derived from free and fair elections in 2028, as prescribed by the constitution.
We also call on the people of Zimbabwe to withdraw their consent and refuse to be governed by Mr Mnangagwa’s government beyond 2028.
Civil disobedience will be encouraged while further steps to undermine Mnangagwa’s rule will be considered should his rogue regime foolishly choose to dig in.
</blockquote>

Pindula News

ZAPU President Nkomo says Mnangagwa should step down in 2028 after his second term. Nkomo warns against extending his rule, calling it illegal. He criticizes ZANU PF for taking Zimbabweans for granted since 1980. Nkomo rejects the idea of extending Mnangagwa's term to 2030. He promises resistance and civil disobedience if Mnangagwa tries to stay in power beyond 2028. Nkomo urges Zimbabweans to demand fair elections in 2028 and not accept Mnangagwa's government.

Any Attempt To Extend Mnangagwa's Rule Will Be Met With Resistence - Nkomo

ZAPU has refuted the claims made by Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist Sengezo Tshabangu, who claimed to have engaged the party’s president, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, and his sister, Thandiwe Nkomo, in discussions about forming a Government of National Unity (GNU) with ZANU PF.
In a statement, ZAPU National Spokesperson, Richard Gandari, said Tshabangu made false claims on the VOA Studio 7 Ndebele bulletin which aired on 7 May 2024. Said Gandari:
<blockquote>
The truth of the matter is that our President, Cde Sibangilizwe Nkomo, casually met Mr Tshabangu by chance, during Chief Dakamela’s traditional function in Nkayi on the 7th of April, 2024.
It was a mere handshake and photo opportunity at Mr Tshabangu’s request. Out of civil courtesy and ubuntu, President Nkomo obliged and spent at most a couple of minutes interacting with Mr Tshabangu.
Apart from cordial greetings and casual pleasantries, nothing of political substance was ever discussed. For the record, it was our President’s first time meeting the infamous Mr Tshabangu in person.
</blockquote>
Gandari said his party does not want to be associated with Tshabangu’s “tattered brand”. He also suggested that CCC’s contested interim secretary general is mentally unstable. He said:
<blockquote>
Today, we find ourselves with the unenviable task of defending our good name from Mr Tshabangu’s tattered brand. Association with his acerbic name has badly affected the dead and the living in equal measure.
He is a radioactive entity, and unfortunately, hard to avoid during a public function. We believe Mr Tshabangu is a drowning man, desperate to clutch at any straws for personal survival and political relevance.
While we are not medically privy to the state of his mental faculties, it would be naïve to consider him stable, unless his mischief knows no bounds.
Furthermore, we are greatly appalled by the poor journalistic standard used by Studio 7’s Sithandekile Mhlanga, who gave wings to Mr Tshabangu’s flight of fancy.
Whether by mistake or design, Sithandekile casually stated that Sengezo Tshabangu held talks with senior ZANU PF officials before attaching a voice clip of Mr Tshabangu claiming to have talked with “Thandi and Bangilizwe Nkomo.’
This amounts to misinformation with the danger of misleading the public into believing that our ZAPU leader is a ZANU PF official.
We expect better standards and ethics from Studio 7, a respectable station that has given a voice to the voiceless masses of Zimbabwe at home and in the diaspora.
</blockquote>
Tshabangu has been at the centre of controversy within the opposition political landscape of Zimbabwe. In October 2023, Tshabangu claimed to be the interim Secretary General of the CCC, a political movement then led by Nelson Chamisa.
He wrote letters to the Speaker of Parliament and the Minister of Local Government, purporting to recall several CCC MPs and councillors stating that the named individuals had ceased to be members of the CCC.
Among those recalled by Tshabangu included two Harare mayors, the Mayors of Norton and Masvingo and the chairperson of the Epworth Local Board.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZAPU Refutes Tshabangu's Government Of National Unity Claims

ZAPU leader Sibangilizwe Nkomo said that ZANU PF is behind the challenges currently bedevilling the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, which is being torn apart by factional fights.
Addressing the media recently, Nkomo claimed that since independence in 1980, ZANU PF has orchestrated the dismantling of opposition political parties including ZAPU which had emerged from the 1980 general elections as the strongest opposition party.
Nkomo said ZANU PF infiltrates opposition parties through questionable characters who then cause the parties to implode. He said:
<blockquote>
ZANU [PF] has always been in the job of destroying other parties starting with ZAPU.
We know we have no reason not to believe ZANU [PF] is also involved in the destruction of CCC and other parties.
… I have no reason to doubt that ZANU has a hand in the destruction of political outfits.
</blockquote>
CCC is probably at its weakest point since its formation in January 2022 after its founding leader, Nelson Chamisa, quit the party a month ago, accusing ZANU PF of infiltrating the opposition outfit.
Chamisa’s resignation came after little-known activist Sengezo Tshabangu recalled the party’s elected officials despite Chamisa’s protests.
ZANU PF is also accused of destroying the MDC, which won the majority of seats in Parliament in 2008.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZAPU President, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, Accuses ZANU PF Of Destroying CCC

The opposition Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) party has questioned the ZANU PF-led government’s commitment to a genuine resolution of the Gukurahundi massacres.
This follows the exclusion of key stakeholders from taking part in planned hearings set to be rolled out in affected communities to resolve the Gukurahundi legacy.
Addressing the media on Friday, ZAPU president Sibangalizwe Nkomo said the perpetrator was in charge of the whole process while the primary target of the massacres was excluded. Said Nkomo (<a href="https://www.zimlive.com/zapu-protests-exclusion-from-gukurahundi-hearings-by-government/">via ZimLive</a>):
<blockquote>
Fellow Zimbabweans, we have witnessed an attempt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to deceive our people into thinking that he sincerely wants to address the Gukurahundi genocide.
Our major discontentment is the fact that the perpetrator is not only in charge of the process but determines the terms of the whole process.
As if that is not enough, ZAPU, the primary target of the Gukurahundi military operation, has not been considered by the government.
We have clearly stated that any process that does not include us as victims is an exercise in futility.
</blockquote>
The Gukurahundi hearings will be led by traditional leaders in communities where the atrocities were committed.
However, little has been mentioned about restorative justice against the perpetrators. Said Nkomo:
<blockquote>
Compatriots, Gukurahundi affected our people in different ways. Those who lost loved ones need healing and closure. Those who were raped deserve healing. Many lost their properties and deserve compensation.
ZAPU and ZPRA also lost properties which are yet to be returned. ZAPU insists that the starting point in addressing Gukurahundi is making public the Chihambakwe report.
It is for this reason that we appeal to President Mnangagwa to halt the process and consult widely so that for once, he can do something that can outlive his chequered legacy.
</blockquote>
Gukurahundi was the code name used during military operation in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces ostensibly to neutralise dissidents in the 1980s.
An estimated 20 000 civilians, according to independent estimates, were killed during the disturbances.
Meanwhile, Nkomo urged survivors to avoid exposing themselves to possible retribution by the state through certain utterances during the hearings.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZAPU Demands Inclusion In Gukurahundi Hearings

ZAPU has reported that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has seized campaign t-shirts donated by its members in South Africa. The party, led by Sibangilizwe Nkomo, son of the late former Vice President and ZAPU founding leader Joshua Nkomo, shared this information on Twitter. Wrote the party:
<blockquote>
And then @Zimra_11 decides to seize our campaign t-shirts donated by our members in SA. This too, shall come to pass. We will not be cowed or deterred. 23 August kusazonyiwa
<img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-261775" decoding="async" height="1280" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" src="https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized.jpeg" srcset="https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized.jpeg 1280w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-60x60.jpeg 60w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-90x90.jpeg 90w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ZAPU-REGALIA-seized-120x120.jpeg 120w" width="1280"/>
</blockquote>
ZIMRA has acknowledged the seizure and advised ZAPU to adhere to customs regulations. The regulator stated that the clearance of goods must follow the procedures outlined in Section 18 (f) (i) of the Customs and Excise Act. Responded the regulator:
<blockquote>
Good day. We have taken note of your query and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Kindly note that clearance of goods procedure has to be followed in accordance with Section 18 (f) (i) of the Customs and Excise Act.
</blockquote>
ZAPU is now required to undergo the clearance process and fulfil the payment of state warehouse rent in order to retrieve its regalia. The party said it remains undeterred by this incident. This is happening about a fortnight before Zimbabwe holds harmonised elections.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

ZIMRA Seizes ZAPU's Campaign T-Shirts From South African Members

The opposition ZAPU party says it is planning to contest the 2023 elections to prove that it is still in existence despite signing the Unity Accord with ZANU in 1987 to end the Gukurahundi killings.
ZAPU president, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, who is the son of the late PF ZAPU founding leader Joshua Nkomo, said having the party’s name on the ballot would be a “victory”. He said:
<blockquote>
ZAPU will contest these elections, firstly as an act of defiance against those who, in 1987, thought that they had buried us.
Having our name on the ballot paper is victory enough. We must aim very high but remain realistic in our planning.
</blockquote>
Nkomo made the remarks during the party’s inaugural cadre development workshop in Bulawayo early this week.
In 2008, the late Dumiso Dabengwa and some of the former PF ZAPU members quit ZANU PF to revive ZAPU but the party has failed to leave a mark on the country’s political landscape. Said Nkomo:
<blockquote>
In 2008, we left the host and started rebuilding our structures. Today marks an important step towards consolidating those structures for battles ahead.
As we face multiple challenges, both internal and external, this workshop should produce a cadre ready to defend the union through superior logic and build a platoon of like-minded cadres.
</blockquote>
ZAPU recently experienced what seems to be a huge setback after the party expelled five senior members, including secretary-general Strike Mnkandla for allegedly challenging Nkomo. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/theindependent/local-news/article/200004471/zapu-to-contest-in-2023-polls">Zimbabwe Independent</a>

ZAPU Says It Will Contest In 2023 General Elections

Expelled ZAPU senior party members have castigated party president, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, accusing him of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies.
The sacked party members are Strike Mkandla (Secretary-General), Matthew Sibanda (Matabeleland South Provincial Chairperson), Ernest Ndlovu (provincial secretary), Mildred Mkandla (Secretary for Education and Training), and Akim Nkala (National Executive Council member).
They were expelled from ZAPU on Saturday on the grounds that they had “individually and collectively chosen a path designed to harm ZAPU in collaboration with those invested in this objective for many years now.”
Speaking in an interview with <a href="https://cite.org.zw/expelled-zapu-senior-members-accuse-nkomo-of-being-power-hungry/">CITE</a>, Mkandla said that Nkomo specifically targeted them for highlighting that he was not qualified to be party president based on a resolution passed by the National People’s Council (NPC). Said: Mkandla:
<blockquote>
Nkomo is on and on about his powers. That’s very arbitrary and uncalled for. We don’t know anyone who did that, not even Joshua Nkomo or Dumiso Dabengwa had the powers that he is talking about. Even if they are there, they are constitutional, not personal powers.
We have structures in which we exercise those powers and that is through NEC or NPC. Nkomo must wait for congress to get new mandates to change anything but he’s on and on about powers vested in him, to the extent that he can take arbitrary personal decisions.
Decisions are constitutional to make sure there is an absence of arbitrariness, not to heap any powers on anybody whether SG, president, or national chairperson.
These are very fictitious powers, otherwise, the last person to do such things was Mugabe and maybe to some degree Tsvangirai. In ZAPU we never had such arbitrariness.
We always had meetings and Dabengwa spoke to other people. He even presided over meetings of 16 political parties, which were not made public.
What was important about Dabengwa is he actually was a very collective man in his approach.
</blockquote>

Expelled ZAPU Senior Members Accuse Nkomo Of Exhibiting Dictatorial Tendencies

The opposition ZAPU has expelled five senior members who took to court the party president, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, for allegedly failing to adhere to the party’s constitution and procedures.
The senior party members challenged Nkomo’s candidature at the Bulawayo High Court ahead of the party’s elective congress last year in October.
They later withdrew the court application after holding talks with Nkomo, but then decided to revive it two months ago.
The senior members were now seeking an order overturning the 2020 congress where Nkomo was elected.
ZAPU spokesperson Msongelwa Ndlovu identified the sacked members as Strike Mkandla , Matthew Sibanda, Ernest Ndlovu, Mildred Mkandla and Akim Nkala. Said Ndlovu:
<blockquote>
It is with regret to announce to ZAPU members, supporters and sympathisers that after 12 months of attempting to unite the party after our congress, the following individuals have expelled themselves from the union.
Messars Strike Mkandla, Matthew Sibanda , Ernest Ndlovu, Mildred Mkandla and Akim Nkala have individually and collectively chosen a path designed to harm ZAPU in collaboration with those invested in this objective for many years now.
ZAPU has noted and accepted their decision and wishes them well in their future endeavors.
We call on our members to treat them with the same treatment reserved for all our political opponents.
</blockquote>
Mkandla is the party’s former secretary -general while Sibanda is the party’s former Matebeleland South Province chairperson, while Mildred is the party‘s former chairperson for the women’s assembly.
Ndlovu pleaded with the general party membership to avoid cooperating with the expelled members for the unity of the party. He said:
<blockquote>
We implore our members to avoid cooperating with them as doing so only helps to advance their objective to divide and eventually destroy the party.
Let us remain vigilant and focused on the ultimate objective of delivering our people from the yokes of ZANU PF intolerance, corruption, and incompetence.
</blockquote>
ZAPU will do whatever it takes to work with like-minded people and organisations to put to an end the curse of ZANU PF on our people.
| <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/zapu-expels-five-senior-members/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>

ZAPU Expels Five Senior Members

Sibangilizwe Nkomo, son of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, has described the Unity Accord as the most dishonest document in human history.
The Unity Accord was an agreement signed by the late “Father Zimbabwe” and the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe in 1987 to end Gukurahundi Massacres.
Nkomo, who is set to contest for the ZAPU presidency, told NewsDay that the agreement allowed Mugabe to continue with his dream of creating a one-party-State. He said:
<blockquote>
The worst and very dishonest document ever put together in the human history of agreements and contracts was the 1987 Zimbabwe Unity Accord.
Anyone who has taken sight of the document will tell you that it was either done or signed in a hurry or at gunpoint, as it were. It is a laughable document, to say the least.
For Joshua Nkomo, it stopped the killings, the rapes, the torture, the disappearances and the suffering of innocent Zimbabweans.
For Robert Mugabe, it massaged his ego to continue with his wild dream of a one-party State.
We are also grateful for the cessation of bloodletting. I’m on record as saying these types of agreements are a ‘Members Only Club’ type of arrangements made in the name of the masses, they can never work effectively.
</blockquote>
ZAPU is scheduled to hold a congress in October to select new leadership following the death of Dumiso Dabengwa in May 2019 who led the pullout of ex-ZAPU members from the accord in 2008 citing ZANU PF insincerity.
Nkomo will battle it out with Strike Mkandla, the current secretary-general, Matabeleland South chairperson Matthew Sibanda, United Kingdom-based Sithembiso Mpofu, Bernard Magugu, current treasurer-general Mark Mbaiwa and the party’s spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/08/unity-accord-a-dishonest-pact-nkomos-son-says-the-pact-died-with-his-father-and-mugabe/">NewsDay</a></h4>

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