(Last Updated on October 4, 2012 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube has ruled out prospects of reuniting with MDC-T, describing the former as a violent and corrupt political party.
He said these “fundamental” differences made it impossible for the two parties to re-unite, scampering hopes of the two joining hands to fight Zanu-PF in next year’s harmonised elections. Prof Ncube said this on Monday in an interview with Zimpapers’ Star FM Radio.
Said Prof Ncube; “You cannot have unification if one of the parties believes completely in non violence and the other believes there are circumstances where you can resort to violence as an instrument of political organisation.”
He said MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai exhibited dictatorial tendencies when he overruled the united MDC national council resolution to contest in the 2005 Senatorial polls. Prof Ncube said this led to the split of the party.
“We also do not believe that there are any circumstances where one individual whatever their title in the party can overrule a collective decision of the majority of the structures of the party,” Prof Ncube said.
He added that sponsored violence by some senior leaders in the MDC-T dashed any hopes of opening reunification talks.
“In 2005 and if we look at the reports which are now available . . . they are in the public domain . . . there were sections of the party who sponsored, recruited, trained young people who were abducting leaders of beating them. In fact they stripped them in the presence of girls and boys and beating them up at the head office of the party,” he said.
“Frank Chamunorwa was abducted and in fact dragged to the street in front of my own house, beaten and had his arm broken during those assaults. Many, many others were beaten in similar circumstances by those people who were the youths sponsored by the political leadership of the party and that was a matter of fundamental contestation among the party leaders.”
He also cited the violence that rocked the run up to the MDC-T congress held in Bulawayo last year.
Prof Ncube said his party did not condone resorting to violence for political organisation, which the MDC-T exhibited.