'MRP President Mqondisi Moyo's political career and people's expectations'

The interest and enthusiasm being shown by many Mthwakazi's sons and daughters in support of  Mthwakazi Republic Party's ideology and it's political views has come at very huge cost for some of the MRP leaders especially at personal and family level.

Since the demise of the Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo's led ZAPU there has been many Mthwakazi formations that have attempted to occupy the Matabeleland space with little success mostly because of the heavy handedness of the state security in this country as well as the fact that the people of Matabeleland have been made to resist their own for different reasons, we are too suspicious of anything and leading anything in Matabeleland is not child's play.

We thank the Lord for Cde Moyo's efforts, him and his party's efforts have made him the most popular Mthwakazi leader.

From iBosso, politics, church, business and or Bulawayo City Council it's not easy to please us, it has not been easy with Cde Mqondisi Moyo too. While it is a fact that there can only be one leader at a time and that there is nobody who is perfect, we in Matabeleland should at least desist from building our future on individuals but focus on building strong institutions and our nation.

Our parents built their future, and political aspirations on Dr JMN Nkomo instead of ZAPU and the result was that it became so difficult for anyone who would have a contrary view from Him, this meant that everyonene had to conform. I personally have no problem with uMdala Wethu, my problem is those people he worked with and never attempted to build a strong institution like other liberation movements, some of them literally made him a god in the end when things didn't come right as they wish or expected the blame was put on UMdala Wethu and not the entire executive up to today most people blame Nkomo and they call him names while even those who praise him, they praise him alone.

I am of the view that we should move away from the Kingship type of politics. I am aware of the King Tshaka, Mzilikazi and Lobhengula effect, I support the revival of the Ndebele Monarchy. Yet I am not comfortable with such a set-up in politics and our political parties.

Back to Cde Mqondisi Moyo's political career, the President has done a lot for the region and he is still doing a marvelous job, no doubt he has been burdened a lot by us who do not understand how politics should work, I have noticed that he is forced to do a lot of things alone, from organising, fundraising, planning and implementation, etc. Yet there is an executive in place. Of late I have been inundated with calls from party structures locally and abroad asking what is the leadership doing about the whole lot of things including restructuring and what they call proper management whatever that means and some of them, I often tell them you are partly to blame because all of you don't want to follow laid down party procedures and protocols you prefer to engage the President and expect him to individually make decisions and when he does and it doesn't come right in future everyone will turn against him and call him names. Focus on building MRP instead.

I want to believe that Cde Mqondisi Moyo has done well and is continuously doing well against all odds, in my view he has become like UMdala Wethu and MRP has become a very strategic leader of an important institution of Mthwakazi that is slowly but surely occupying the political space left vacant by ZAPU..

What is of paramount importance now is to make sure that the party moves to another level, and also that the party doesn't fail like other Mthwakazi formations. It remains a fact that MRP is not donor funded and it is sponsored by it's members.

There has been unfair criticism  of the party by mostly ignorant people who do not know how politics works. Nonsensical narratives like MRP is a ZANU-PF project, and or that the leadership particularly the president is getting money from anywhere, these are malicious allegations which are unfounded and should be ignored.

The most vocal people who accuse the party's leadership have never individually or collectively contributed any cent to MRP. It is my humble opinion that at this stage, the party being led by Cde Moyo must now move to another level, we have stayed too long in the pressure group zone as alleged by critics.

MRP President Cde Moyo is carrying a heavy load already with our people's aspirations and expectations hence there is no room for complacency and any kind of blundering. The burden on Moyo must be carried by everyone and must be shared by everyone in the party. I repeat that we can't continue losing elections, and we can't continue having place holders who don't perform their duties as expected.

We need to see to it that the party grows, and also matures into an alternative political institution of choice and this needs planning. Workshops, policy formation and restructuring exercises all these can't be ignored at this stage.

I must make it very clear that I support Cde Mqondisi Moyo's presidency for another ten years or so, and I want MRP to live beyond that. It is my wish to see the people's revolutionary party gaining more and more numbers at ward and constituency level. While I am aware of the pressure the President is in, I wouldn't want to cry in future and say he made the wrong choices, decisions and priorities and so on hence I am advocating for an inclusive approach to everything including decision-making process. It's not only about him but all of us included.

Finally I think I know the President very well and I know that he is well meaning and yet we expect even more from him and his team.

Cde Mbonisi Solomon Gumbo is a founding member of MRP writing in his personal capacity. He can be contacted by Email at; mbokagumbo@gmail.com