'We Must Cherish, Defend Unity' in Zimbabwe

Joshua Nkomo of ZAPU and Robert Mugabe of ZANU, leaders of the Zimbabwe liberation struggle. This photo was taken during the revolutionary war to liberate ZImbabwe during the 1970s., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

‘We must cherish, defend unity’

December 23, 2013 Opinion & Analysis
Zimbabwe Herald

December 22, 2013 marked the 26th Anniversary of the signing of the Unity Accord between PF-ZAPU and ZANU (PF). How relevant is the agreement today and what are the dynamics shaping the continuance of national unity and cohesion?

Our reporter Lloyd Gumbo (LG) talks to ZANU-PF national chairperson Cde Simon Khaya Moyo (SK) about these and other issues.

LG: May you take us through the journey to the agreement and its significance to Zimbabwe today?

SK: Well, first we must understand that the Unity Accord signed by the two great icons of our country, President Robert Mugabe and the late Dr Joshua Nkomo is the basis of the unity of our people as a whole. It’s not just unity between the two erstwhile parties.

So it’s very significant that when we celebrate this Unity Day, we must take into account the past.

The past tells us that ZANU (PF) and PF-Zapu then, are the two principal liberation movements which brought us freedom. Of course ZANU had its military wing Zanla and ZAPU and its military wing Zipra.

They prosecuted the struggle, these two liberation movements under this, very appreciated leadership. It was a protracted liberation struggle.

When you look back in terms of history, the two parties, although they had split, ZANU had split from ZAPU in 1963, they never lost each other.

LG: How did they not lose each other when they split?

SK: The goals were always the same; freedom and independence of our country which was principally based on the land issue.

The two subscribed to that philosophy that Zimbabwe belonged to Zimbabweans, the black majority and therefore it had to be free.

Past efforts to attain this goal had failed in various forms until the decision of pursuing an armed struggle had to be realised.

So, given that background, it is quite clear that the two parties never lost each other. Efforts were even made in exile that the two liberation armies come together.

This resulted in the formation of ZIPA.

Unfortunately, things did not go the way of our expectation and as we moved on the two liberation armies still had to operate separately.

But the campus was clear that it is the politics which leads the gun and not the gun which leads the politics. Therefore it was vital to strengthen the political unity.

This is what led to the formation of the Patriotic Front. The Patriotic Front was a basis of saying we “must speak with one voice at every forum”. The Patriotic Front’s formation gave us the co-leaders of this organisation, in the name of President Robert Mugabe and the late Dr Joshua Nkomo.

So we had to go to Geneva under the banner of the Patriotic Front for the negotiations. We had to go to Malta as one again under the banner of the Patriotic Front. We had to go to Lancaster again as one, under the banner of the Patriotic Front. So, this oneness did not just start yesterday. It has been a process of bringing our people together.

As we came to the elections in 1980, although we didn’t move as the Patriotic Front but we still didn’t lose each other either. This is why we have got Patriotic Front still very prominent in ZANU and Patriotic Front still very prominent in ZAPU.

The formation of the Government in 1980 was significant in the sense that it really showed that the Patriotic Front was in charge. We put the seats together and out of the 80 seats which were reserved for blacks, we, as the Patriotic Front combined, got 77 seats and (Bishop Abel) Muzorewa got three.

The other 20 of the 100 seats were reserved for the whites.

But as we moved on in Government, we were proud of it because we viewed it as a Patriotic Front Government. We had to cement this unity through a process, hence we negotiated.

The two parties got into talks until finally we came to an agreement that we both form one organisation – the united ZANU-PF.

You will recall that in the past ZANU-PF was “ZANU” with the “PF” in brackets. But the agreement, we understood it clearly that we must remove the bracket. This is why you see it today, it is ZANU-PF.

We are united in that organisation. But it was not enough just to have the two signatures of these great icons to the agreement. It was necessary that the congresses of both ZANU and ZAPU endorsed this agreement.

After the congresses endorsed the agreement, this signaled, the irreversibility of the agreement. Anyone who can claim to pull out of that agreement should be a signatory.

You cannot pull out of what you are not a signatory. So, as far as we know, the Unity Accord is intact. The two signatories still prevail, although Dr Joshua Nkomo is now late.

But even before he died, he made it clear … that “this Unity Accord must live forever”.
In IsiNdebele, he could even go further and say “lingasuki lapho engilitshiya khona. Don’t move to any other position. The position is the one we have taken together with President Mugabe”. So we must cherish this unity. We must protect it. We must defend it.

As we moved on, we even coined a new motto for the united party, which is Unity, Peace and Development because we were cognisant of the fact that without unity, there can never be peace. Without peace, there can never be development.

And we subscribe to that position. This is why, as far, as we are concerned, the unity has gone stronger each year.

We must therefore, this year, take the Unity Accord, as a moment for us to reflect, to stock take and of course to vow that we shall never betray our fallen heroes and the living heroes because this unity is in their honour.

LG: You are painting iconic legacies of both President Mugabe and the late Father Zimbabwe. Now that we have these commemorations on Sunday and we have the re-naming of the Bulawayo International Airport and Main Street in Bulawayo in honour of Dr Nkomo. We also have the unveiling of his statue by a signatory to the Unity Accord, President Mugabe. How significant is this?

SK: Very significant indeed. The fact that it is the President who is going to unveil the statue, who is going to commission the airport and the road is a statement on its own.

It’s a statement in that, if his compatriot was still alive, they perhaps would have done it together. But he is doing it on his behalf as well.

On behalf of the late Dr Nkomo and the fallen heroes who have gone with the late Father Zimbabwe. It’s a great honour. I hope this programme on Sunday will be graced, not only by people in Bulawayo but people from across the country because it reminds us of the characteristics of this great man.

He was a man who hated tribalism, he hated regionalism. He hated every negative issue. To him, we were one people and he used to repeat that none of us, when we were born, ever signed a form, that you want to be a Karanga or you want to be a Zezuru or you want to be a Manyika or you want to be Ndebele.

That is God’s business and we should not be seen to partaking in God’s business particularly by practicing negative actions whereby others see themselves as more important than others because of language or ethnicity.

We cannot allow that… Because to us, people like the late Dr Nkomo and his other compatriots who have gone, they seriously never die, they depart for higher responsibility.

We believe in our culture that they are watching us and we must mind what we do on a daily basis. Let’s not betray them by doing those things which make them uncomfortable in their graves.

LG: So what is your reaction to people like Dumiso Dabengwa who claim the Accord is dead because he purports to have reclaimed the old Zapu and thus pulled one half out of the agreement?

SK: My reaction is that, I always subscribe to issues not to tissues. Therefore, I will not really be laboured by what is obvious. It is quite clear, as I said earlier that the Unity Accord is irreversible. Therefore, if you are not a signatory to it, you cannot pull out.

LG: But there are some quarters who feel the Unity Accord was a compromise between ZAPu and ZANU. They say it did not transcend to the grassroots.

SK: I have said earlier that it was not an event. It has been a long process. Therefore, anybody who understands our political and liberation history will not think in that direction.

It’s not something that happened in 20 seconds which President Mugabe and the late Dr Joshua Nkomo just dreamt of and woke up and say, “Yes, we are going to sign.”

It’s been a long process, part of our entire struggle to unite our people. You know that our people have responded positively even as late as our recent harmonised elections.
It’s a demonstration by the people that unity is vital. This is why the revolutionary party ZANU-PF almost swept all constituencies.

LG: What will happen when all former PF-ZAPU and former ZANU (PF) officials have departed?

SK: It’s our deeds which will speak. It’s what we do now, which will speak. And what will speak will say, “There is no way we can be anything else except a united party, a united people.”

I don’t see why it should not be there forever. We have got structures of the party. The youth are there, they subscribe to it. Women are there, they subscribe to it. The men are there, they subscribe to it.

The war veterans are there, they subscribe to it. So, who does not subscribe to the Unity Accord who can thrive in chaos?

So, we don’t see the Unity Accord being challenged by anybody because it is the basis of our people as a whole. Anybody who doesn’t like unity admires or cherishes chaos. Why should that be our expectations?

LG: You said the late Father Zimbabwe did not believe in tribalism or regionalism. But some people from Matabeleland still feel they are economically marginalised. They say everything happens in Harare.

SK: It’s not just people from Matabeleland obviously who are saying that but from other regions too. Harare is not Zimbabwe.

People of Matabeleland and people of Zimbabwe as a whole as even evidenced by our Zim-Asset programme is that let us revisit the entirety of the country.

Bulawayo used to be the industrial hub of this country, let it be again. Why shouldn’t it be? That’s what the people are saying. Let our actions show that Bulawayo as the second-largest city retains to its status of being the industrial hub of Zimbabwe.

LG: What can the world learn from this Accord considering that there is a growing trend in secessionist movements and civil wars?

SK: What is important about this Unity Accord is that it is home-grown. There was no mediator from outside.

Permanent solutions to any problems are better found within their own situations without foreign interference. Let us as a people show the world that home-grown solutions are the best.

LG: Back to the Accord, what was the agreement in terms of power-sharing because there are people who claim there are some “gentlemen’s agreements” that are not binding in that agreement. For instance, the issue of the chairmanship. Some say it was never put in the agreement as a preserve for former PF-ZAPU. As a result, at the last Congress, there were people from former ZANU (PF) challenging for the chairmanship.

SK: Whatever people might think, I say we do our own things in-house. We don’t go outside and shout about our internal perceptions. We are a party. We discuss things. We arrive at positions without compromising the Unity Accord.

LG: Still some quarters within the party say some aspects and practices of the Unity Accord, such as setting aside certain Government and party positions, are now past their sell by date. They say ZANU-PF is now united. Why keep reserving positions for each other?

SK: Let them bring those positions to the party. We don’t discuss things in the streets.

Why are they afraid of bringing those positions if they are there? We are a democratic party and we never shy away from discussing issues. So, let them bring them. They know the channels. These are not matters of the night. We have a constitution.

So let us measure to that expectation as leaders. We must avoid being gossipers as leaders.

We must never be seen to be gossipers. If there is a burning issue, (the party must) bring it up. Structures are there.