Opinion / Interviews
Interview: Magagula on General Nandinandi's untimely resignation
12 Mar 2016 at 04:18hrs | Views
On Friday, a report signed by Dr Churchill Guduza and Mr Andrea Sibanda, MLF's Vice President and Secretary General respectively was published announcing the untimely resignation of their party's president from the hot seat. A lot of things were speculated on the social networks, some ridiculing the report as a dummy report.
What puzzled many people is that MLF was seen as finding its footing after successfully holding their Unilateral Mthwakazi Independence Declaration in October last year and further General Nandinandi was seen in company of Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini in February in KwaZulu Natal.
Mthwakazi people felt that move alone had positive signs on the effectiveness of front's foreign policy to try and establish friendship with other African people or organisations.
So what went wrong at MLF?
To answer that question, Mthwakazi Research Institute's McKay Tshuma visited MLF' spokesperson Mr David Magagula to get clarity on the authenticity of the report and further understand how much was the report promoting the aims of the front. David Magagula is DM while McKay Tshuma is MT and this is what Magagula had to say.
MT: Good morning Mr Magagula and welcome to Mthwakazi Research Institute.
DM: Good morning to you and to all Mthwakazi people and thanks for granting me the opportunity to talk to Mthwakazi people through your platform, for the first time in 2016. And maybe thanks to the report you saw, maybe you were not bothered talking to us had it not been released.
MT: About the report you are talking about, we hear MLF President General Nandinandi has resigned as the front's leader. Can you confirm or refute that.
DM: Yes the report is true although there are some untrue elements in it.
MT: What is untrue?
DM: The accusations leveled against Nkomo. That was uncalled for and a misplaced "truth ".
MT: Everybody thought MLF had now found its footing. What went wrong, why has General Nandinandi resigned?
DM: I think the report you saw answers that one.
MT: Magagula can you confirm that General Nandinandi recently led a non MLF sanctioned delegation to KwaZulu Natal.
DM: Why unsanctioned, who sanctions MLF 's activities? According to my knowledge the trip was sanctioned.
MT: Did all NEC members know about that trip?
DM: Yes they did.
MT: Magagula can you again confirm that you recently held a National Executive Meeting that some members of the committee did not know about.
DM: The meeting was designed for only those who attended it and who are you to speak on their behalf, who said they were not informed?
MT: I think your chairperson is the third high ranking member of the your organization. Did she know a thing about the meeting and does your party constitution approve of that behaviour?
DM: That I will choose not to answer because we attend to problems that have arisen differently from other organizations.
MT: So you have got problems in MLF.
DM: No I never said we have problems but things or issues that have arisen.
MT: But it sounds improper to say General Nandinandi resigned because he has been put under pressure by the Botswana Government because he is documented as a Botswana citizen after leading the organization for all these years and achieving all the things you listed on your report. So has General Nandinandi been recalled or he resigned?
DM: What did the report say? I think the report puts it crystal clear that General stepped down. The issue of him being recalled is only yours.
MT: Magagula, if it is surely an issue of General Nandinandi holding a Botswana citizenship, what citizenship is your Vice President, Churchill Guduza holding?
DM: That's for him to answer. Why would I answer questions that should be directed straight to him? Ask him.
MT: Like Botswana, South Africa is bound by the SADC rules not to allow its citizens to partake in political issues of other countries. So how are you going to deal with that and are you going to force Guduza to resign too?
DM: I said direct that question straight to him. I don't know what citizenship he is holding, all I know is that he is a Mthwakazian.
MT: Bowing to such demands, doesn't it prove some weaknesses at some point, considering that Nkomo sacrificed all he had but General couldn't sacrifice his wealth for the people of Mthwakazi and who between the two turns out to be a better leader?
DM: I did not compare Nkomo and General and in any case he might be a businessmen but not wealth and the report you read does not say anything about his wealth being a reason for stepping down.
MT: But your party report compares them.
DM: I think the report has the signatures of the people who compiled it. So it is only them who can answer on that. MLF does not criticize another Mthwakazian publicly. So ask them. In any case it is the same Nkomo who made General the same General we are proud of today. Nkomo will always remain an icon of our struggle.
MT: So what is the way forward for MLF in as far as the leadership is concerned and when exactly is General Nandinandi ceasing to be MLF president?
DM: General's term was to expire by the end of 2017. So from now until that time we will hold our congress, our Secretary General, Andrea Sibanda is at the helm. We intend to hold a press conference in the near future to address that.
MT: Why Andrea Sibanda, when you have got a Vice President?
DM: Because we chose to go that way and our constitution states that.
MT: Among the reasons you stated for hold your Conference last year in Botswana, you said you wanted to promote unity among Mthwakazi people but in your report about the resignation of your president, you are castigating Joshua Nkomo for all the problems that Mthwakazi people have found themselves under the rule of Zimbabwe. How much is that promoting the unity among Mthwakazi people particularly between Joshua Nkomo's followers and MLF?
DM: I am particularly sorry for the comment. It was uncalled for. Our wish as MLF is to see all Mthwakazi people united behind MLF not to tear our people apart. I really don't know what led to such comments but we will sort it out. I sincerely regret it.
MT: Your Vice President is on record of insulting the Khalanga people at a rally you once held in Berea Park. Do you think he is the right person to take MLF to greater heights and probably uniting Mthwakazi people?
DM: I don't know that one. However let me hasten to say Mthwakazi is a rainbow nation with all tribes treated equally. Gen Nandinandi is a Khalanga himself.
MT: What is your message to Mthwakazi people who could have been disturbed by your hit out at Nkomo?
DM: As MLF, we are deeply sorry for the comments made.
MT: Finally, General Nandinandi is no more at MLF. What kind of MLF are we poised to see going ahead, the MLF of early 2011 or the MLF (toothless) that it had turned out to be?
DM: People must expect to see a new look MLF. Completely radical and millitant.
MT: Magagula thank you for your time and best of luck in your future endeavours. DM : Thank you.
What puzzled many people is that MLF was seen as finding its footing after successfully holding their Unilateral Mthwakazi Independence Declaration in October last year and further General Nandinandi was seen in company of Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini in February in KwaZulu Natal.
Mthwakazi people felt that move alone had positive signs on the effectiveness of front's foreign policy to try and establish friendship with other African people or organisations.
So what went wrong at MLF?
To answer that question, Mthwakazi Research Institute's McKay Tshuma visited MLF' spokesperson Mr David Magagula to get clarity on the authenticity of the report and further understand how much was the report promoting the aims of the front. David Magagula is DM while McKay Tshuma is MT and this is what Magagula had to say.
MT: Good morning Mr Magagula and welcome to Mthwakazi Research Institute.
DM: Good morning to you and to all Mthwakazi people and thanks for granting me the opportunity to talk to Mthwakazi people through your platform, for the first time in 2016. And maybe thanks to the report you saw, maybe you were not bothered talking to us had it not been released.
MT: About the report you are talking about, we hear MLF President General Nandinandi has resigned as the front's leader. Can you confirm or refute that.
DM: Yes the report is true although there are some untrue elements in it.
MT: What is untrue?
DM: The accusations leveled against Nkomo. That was uncalled for and a misplaced "truth ".
MT: Everybody thought MLF had now found its footing. What went wrong, why has General Nandinandi resigned?
DM: I think the report you saw answers that one.
MT: Magagula can you confirm that General Nandinandi recently led a non MLF sanctioned delegation to KwaZulu Natal.
DM: Why unsanctioned, who sanctions MLF 's activities? According to my knowledge the trip was sanctioned.
MT: Did all NEC members know about that trip?
DM: Yes they did.
MT: Magagula can you again confirm that you recently held a National Executive Meeting that some members of the committee did not know about.
DM: The meeting was designed for only those who attended it and who are you to speak on their behalf, who said they were not informed?
MT: I think your chairperson is the third high ranking member of the your organization. Did she know a thing about the meeting and does your party constitution approve of that behaviour?
DM: That I will choose not to answer because we attend to problems that have arisen differently from other organizations.
MT: So you have got problems in MLF.
DM: No I never said we have problems but things or issues that have arisen.
MT: But it sounds improper to say General Nandinandi resigned because he has been put under pressure by the Botswana Government because he is documented as a Botswana citizen after leading the organization for all these years and achieving all the things you listed on your report. So has General Nandinandi been recalled or he resigned?
DM: What did the report say? I think the report puts it crystal clear that General stepped down. The issue of him being recalled is only yours.
MT: Magagula, if it is surely an issue of General Nandinandi holding a Botswana citizenship, what citizenship is your Vice President, Churchill Guduza holding?
DM: That's for him to answer. Why would I answer questions that should be directed straight to him? Ask him.
MT: Like Botswana, South Africa is bound by the SADC rules not to allow its citizens to partake in political issues of other countries. So how are you going to deal with that and are you going to force Guduza to resign too?
DM: I said direct that question straight to him. I don't know what citizenship he is holding, all I know is that he is a Mthwakazian.
MT: Bowing to such demands, doesn't it prove some weaknesses at some point, considering that Nkomo sacrificed all he had but General couldn't sacrifice his wealth for the people of Mthwakazi and who between the two turns out to be a better leader?
DM: I did not compare Nkomo and General and in any case he might be a businessmen but not wealth and the report you read does not say anything about his wealth being a reason for stepping down.
MT: But your party report compares them.
DM: I think the report has the signatures of the people who compiled it. So it is only them who can answer on that. MLF does not criticize another Mthwakazian publicly. So ask them. In any case it is the same Nkomo who made General the same General we are proud of today. Nkomo will always remain an icon of our struggle.
MT: So what is the way forward for MLF in as far as the leadership is concerned and when exactly is General Nandinandi ceasing to be MLF president?
DM: General's term was to expire by the end of 2017. So from now until that time we will hold our congress, our Secretary General, Andrea Sibanda is at the helm. We intend to hold a press conference in the near future to address that.
MT: Why Andrea Sibanda, when you have got a Vice President?
DM: Because we chose to go that way and our constitution states that.
MT: Among the reasons you stated for hold your Conference last year in Botswana, you said you wanted to promote unity among Mthwakazi people but in your report about the resignation of your president, you are castigating Joshua Nkomo for all the problems that Mthwakazi people have found themselves under the rule of Zimbabwe. How much is that promoting the unity among Mthwakazi people particularly between Joshua Nkomo's followers and MLF?
DM: I am particularly sorry for the comment. It was uncalled for. Our wish as MLF is to see all Mthwakazi people united behind MLF not to tear our people apart. I really don't know what led to such comments but we will sort it out. I sincerely regret it.
MT: Your Vice President is on record of insulting the Khalanga people at a rally you once held in Berea Park. Do you think he is the right person to take MLF to greater heights and probably uniting Mthwakazi people?
DM: I don't know that one. However let me hasten to say Mthwakazi is a rainbow nation with all tribes treated equally. Gen Nandinandi is a Khalanga himself.
MT: What is your message to Mthwakazi people who could have been disturbed by your hit out at Nkomo?
DM: As MLF, we are deeply sorry for the comments made.
MT: Finally, General Nandinandi is no more at MLF. What kind of MLF are we poised to see going ahead, the MLF of early 2011 or the MLF (toothless) that it had turned out to be?
DM: People must expect to see a new look MLF. Completely radical and millitant.
MT: Magagula thank you for your time and best of luck in your future endeavours. DM : Thank you.
Source - Mthwakazi Research Institute
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