NK Ndlovu pulls out of VP race, backs Mphoko

Zanu-PF Politburo member Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu who has been one of the fierce contenders of the vice presidency post yesterday withdrew his bid to contest for the coveted post, in an unprecedented development likely to have been exacerbated by First Lady Grace Mugabe's sentiments during her recent Meet The People rallies.

Ndlovu, who was one of the five ex-Zapu leaders said to be eyeing the post, ended his bid yesterday and declared support for rival Phelekezela Mphoko.

In withdrawing his interest in the post, Ndlovu launched a blistering attack on Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo saying he is too junior to assume the VP post, describing him as a "schoolboy who takes minutes".

He said he had consulted widely and shared the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe's expressed view that the 1987 Unity Accord which brought together the liberation movements, Zanu and PF-Zapu, "did not provide for, or foresee, a contest" as part of the appointment of Zanu-PF's two second secretaries.

Ndlovu said: "I'm pleased to advise that, after a careful and wide-ranging process of consultations over the last eight or so weeks, I've decided not to be part of the contest for the post of Vice President and second secretary of Zanu-PF reserved for the former PF-Zapu.

"I fully agree with the sentiment recently expressed by the First Lady, and our party's incoming Secretary for Women's Affairs, Dr Grace Mugabe that the two posts of Vice Presidents and Second Secretaries of Zanu-PF are not meant to be contested for as products and expressions of the historic 1987 Unity Accord.

"Right from the beginning, my interest was not to contest against anyone for the post in question, but to ensure that the right and correct procedures are followed in filling the two vacancies, including the post of national chairman.

"For the record, it is a fact that the Unity Accord requires that the two Vice Presidents and Second Secretaries of Zanu-PF be appointed by the President and First Secretary of the party. The Unity Accord did not provide for, or foresee, a contest as part of the appointment of the party's two Vice Presidents, not least because a contest by definition is the opposite of unity in that it tends to be divisive and invariably leads to competing centres of power which undermine unity."

Ndlovu's reference to the Unity Accord throws a fresh challenge to Zanu-PF which has over the years failed to provide expression in its constitution for provisions of the Accord signed by President Mugabe and the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo.

Whereas the Unity Accord envisaged that the President and Zanu-PF First Secretary would appoint his two deputies, the current Zanu-PF constitution requires their election.

The anomaly is one of the major legal issues confronting the party ahead of its elective congress in December, and could come up in tomorrow's Politburo meeting.

Ndlovu said he would not shirk from his view that the former PF-Zapu nominee for Vice President should be the most senior surviving leader. He has previously stated that he was that individual, but was prepared to forego the post as he did when John Nkomo was elevated to Vice President.

Precedence had put Khaya Moyo ahead of the pack after two ex-PF Zapu national chairmen before him, Joseph Msika and John Nkomo, landed the vice presidency.

Ndlovu said the race for the post was now mired in confusion, which he did not want to be a part of, adding he would rather advise on the way forward from outside the "confusion".