MDC UK heading towards a split

By Tichaona Sibanda
09 January 2006

MDC activists in the UK have reacted with anger to allegations that they belong to a splinter group headed by Washington Ali, the apparent chairman of the party in the UK.

A statement issued by Sipho Nkala, in her capacity as the official MDC-UK secretary said the Birmingham meeting, attended by well over 300 activists on Sunday ‘does not reflect any aspect of policy, procedure or the constitution of the MDC’.

The statement read; ‘The MDC-UK has formally distanced itself from Mr. Ali, his associates and all of the activities they have undertaken as a faction. It is therefore important that no party property (cards) or funds should be given to these people,’

Events over the last 24 hours now point towards a split in the MDC UK, despite passionate pleas made last week by veteran party activist John Huruva.

He appealed to all activists to put the people of Zimbabwe first before ‘our trivial personal and often tribal differences’, adding ‘let us learn from our past mistakes and grow up.’

MDC UK’s Information and Publicity secretary Matthew Nyashanu said the e-mail sent out by Sipho to the whole world was a mudslinging act bent on dividing the party in the diaspora.

A fuming Nyashanu said; ‘Let me make it abundantly clear that Sipho’s statement was an act of reckless mudslinging targeted at the wrong recipients. That information is not intended for the MDC. I would look at it as information intended for the Pro-Democracy MDC where Sipho Nkala belongs…I think she has lost it.’

Efforts to get a comment from Sipho were fruitless as her mobile phone went unanswered. One of the activists mentioned in Sipho’s e-mail, Mike Bennet, sad he was angry to see his name in print as he always regarded himself as a technocrat, ‘someone who communicates through the Information secretary of the party here. If (Sipho) Nkala thinks the meeting wasn’t properly constituted, then I would love to tell her that just about everyone involved with the MDC in the last 5 years here in the UK attended the Birmingham meeting on Sunday,’ said Bennet.