ZAPU accuses ANC of opportunistic relationship with Zanu PF

The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) has accused the African National Congress (ANC) of having an opportunistic relationship with the ruling Zanu PF party in Zimbabwe.

These sentiments come after the ANC publicly endorsed Zanu PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of Zimbabwe's disputed elections, with reports indicating the two southern African ruling parties are involved in "delicate talks."

ZAPU, which was once allied with the ANC during the liberation struggle in both countries, said the ANC's current partnership with Zanu PF was based on "gifts and presents" rather than shared ideology.

"We are wise enough to understand that some individuals in the ANC enjoy a political relationship with Zanu PF which is based on gifts and presents more than it is ideological," said ZAPU National Spokesperson, Msongelwa Ndlovu in an interview with CITE.

"It is a different animal to the ANC of Oliver Reginald Tambo whose foundation was the Freedom Charter. This ANC is doing everything against the core values of the Freedom Charter when it comes to the Zimbabwean question," he said.

"It is an absolute disgrace for a party which was persecuted for its relationship with ZAPU to shift allegiance only because their nemesis is in a position of privilege. We have been tempted to denounce the ANC and cut ties completely, but we're aware that the real ANC will never change," Ndlovu said.

Ndlovu also claimed ZAPU was aware that a South African wealthy businessman, entrepreneur and investor, one Zunaid Moti, was at the centre of "oiling the relationship between ANC and Zanu PF."

Ndlovu, said the ANC had "molested" the core values of the Freedom Charter, the ANC's founding document, in its pursuit of personal gain.

Ndlovu also claimed that a South African businessman, Zunaid Moti, was at the centre of "oiling the relationship between the ANC and Zanu PF."

He said Moti had supported a tour of South African celebrities and regional journalists in Zimbabwe prior to the country's elections.

Ndlovu remarked that the current leadership of the ANC have hijacked the revolutionary movement in order to commercialise it.

"There is an evident and deliberate purge of freedom fighters in the ANC disguised as a renewal process. The current ANC of labour unionists and student activists is closer to White monopoly capital than it is to the ordinary people whose living shield is the Freedom Charter. We hope that one day South Africans will restore this glorious movement back to its founding values," said the ZAPU spokesperson.

He called on South Africans to restore the ANC to its founding values.