Zapu not a regional party, says Mutinhiri

ZANU-PF Politburo member Ambrose Mutinhiri, who is vying for the Zanu PF vice presidency post up for grabs at the party's December Congress says the notion that Zapu is a regional party should be dismissed with contempt because it reduces Matabeleland leaders into deputies.

The retired Brigadier-General and former Zipra Chief of Staff, said the myth that Zapu was a party which had regional base prompted leaders from Matabeleland to contest only the vice presidency.

"It's a notion that should be dismissed as it depicts Zapu as if it was a regional party. It was a national party. Reducing big names like Dr Joshua Nkomo to tribal leaders is the worst insult. We must look at all PF-Zapu cadres regardless of the region they come from," he said.

Zapu has more often than not been portrayed as a regional party because of its strong base in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands provinces. Strong remnants of the party remain dotted in these two regions.

The 1987 Unity Pact exacerbated by the 1980 genocide perpetrated by Zanu PF in a bid to wipe away Zapu leaders and its supporters has made it a tradition that leaders from Matabeleland assume the vice presidency.

The VP post currently vacant following the death of John Land Nkomo, also from Matabeleland is being contested largely by Matabeleland Zanu PF members namely Zanu-PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo, considered a front-runner in the race, former Ambassador to South Africa and fellow founding Zipra commander Phelekezela Mphoko, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi and Zanu-PF politburo member and former PF-Zapu national chairman Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu.

Mutinhiri becomes the only ex-Zapu member outside Matabeleland contesting the coveted post which deputizes one of Africa's longest rulers Robert Gabriel Mugabe.