Five former members of ZAPU in Matabeleland South, known as the ‘Mat South Five,’ have voiced frustration over the prolonged court delay in ruling on their case challenging the legitimacy of Sibangilizwe Nkomo’s candidacy for ZAPU presidency.
The group was expelled in November 2022 after opposing Nkomo’s election in 2021. They are also seeking reinstatement to revive the party, which they claim is deteriorating under Nkomo’s leadership.
The Mat South Five – Gideon Dlamini, Echem Nkala, Matthew Sibanda, Ernest Ndlovu and Mildred Mkandla – were senior party members who served ZAPU at various provincial and national levels since 2011.
They argue that Nkomo, the son of ZAPU’s founding leader Joshua Nkomo, used his father’s legacy to secure votes at the 2021 congress despite lacking qualifications.
The group also raised concerns over alleged irregularities in Nkomo’s election, citing that he received 121 votes, although only 105 delegates were registered.
Efforts to address their grievances within the party were dismissed, leading to their expulsion and a court challenge in June 2023.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mkandla, the party’s former National Secretary for Education and Training, emphasised the need for a court decision to determine their future in the party, while stressing the urgency of resolving the case to either revive ZAPU or pursue other political paths.
“Having been expelled from the party, we still wanted to continue and get our case heard. On 12 March 2024, we went to the High Court, hoping for a judgement within a few days or a month, but as of 25 September 2024, we have not heard anything,” Mkandla said.
She added that the court’s judgement would determine their next steps, saying, “People are asking many questions that depend on the court’s ruling. Whether we move forward or backward depends on this judgement.”
“Because of that, we said, ‘maybe the only thing that we can do now is to call a press conference and make people understand who are coming from where we are going and why we are disgruntled,” Mkandla added.
Mkandla added that the group had also written a letter to the Registrar at the High Court this year but they were advised that such correspondence must be done by their lawyers.
“We were told that we should not write directly to the Registrar. Our lawyers wrote the letter and when the response came back, the court officials said they had not heard anything but would upload the judgement when it comes through, if any, and that is what made us really angry,” Mkandla said, expressing anger over the court’s lack of a clear answer.
“The court said they would upload the judgement ‘if any,’ and that made us really angry. How can they say ‘if any’? There’s a possibility there may be no judgement at all.”
She criticised Nkomo’s leadership, claiming ZAPU was deteriorating under his control. “In the meantime, Sibangilizwe is carrying on, and we’ve worked so hard in this party. It’s a pity to see it die because of incompetence,” she remarked.
Sibanda, the former Matabeleland South chairperson, echoed Mkandla’s concerns, pointing to a lack of party activities and structures under Nkomo’s leadership.
“That’s why ZAPU is dying. A party cannot function without activities or structures everywhere. ZAPU members are crying foul, and we want to revive those structures,” he said.
Both Mkandla and Sibanda criticised Nkomo for leveraging his father’s legacy.
“Sibangilizwe used his father’s name to garner support. When we said he doesn’t qualify, other people in the party claimed he qualified while he was still in his mother’s womb,” Mkandla claimed.
ZAPU Secretary General, Mthulisi Hanana, responded to the Mat South Five’s accusations, acknowledging they were senior ZAPU leaders who helped craft the party’s constitution and were unhappy that the same constitution was implemented on them.
“When the party’s direction did not align with their ambitions, they opposed the very principles they once stood for. Congress is supreme, and their dissatisfaction does not change that. They know about their expulsion because they are the ones who wrote the constitution that was implemented on them and their expulsion is not questionable,” Hanana said.
Hanana expressed the party’s willingness to wait for the court ruling, adding that ZAPU is a revolutionary party that understands there are political differences within.
“We have not been engaged by erstwhile comrades to have any form of discussion, we are engaging through lawyers and the courts. Unless and until the court is finalised this is how we are going to be engaging,” he said.
The ZAPU SG further criticised the group’s actions, stating, “They lack the moral and intellectual capacity to determine who is competent within ZAPU.”
“The way they’ve handled this matter shows a lack of critical thinking and political judgement,” Hanana said.
