MDC Vice President denies advocating Ndebele state

By Lance Guma
11 November 2005

An article which appeared in the Daily Mirror alleging that MDC Vice President, Gibson Sibanda called for a separate Ndebele state at a rally in Lupane has been dismissed as false. Paul Themba Nyathi representing the pro-senate faction of the party issued a strong denial and accused the Mirror newspaper of trying to foment tribal divisions in the opposition.

Speaking to Newsreel, Nyathi said it was unfortunate that if anyone from the Matabeleland region aired their views on any subject they were automatically construed as tribal. Asked why they took time to respond to the Daily Mirror article he said, as a newspaper owned by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) they had not bothered much about the story. It is only when respected individuals began questioning the article that they thought a denial was in order.

At the rally in question, Nyathi said ‘Sibanda, rather than calling for a new independent state was urging the people of Matabeleland to turn out and vote in the senate elections in order to prevent Zanu PF from regaining a foothold in the region. Not only did the reporter from the Mirror fail to interpret such comments in their proper context he also deliberately misquoted Sibanda's remarks.’

On ongoing squabbles in the party, Nyathi said Tsvangirai had turned down the chance for a compromise agreement over the senate polls. He says they offered to withdraw senate candidates in return for Morgan Tsvangirai dismantling ‘institutions of violence’, acknowledging the 12 October National council vote and agreeing he had violated the constitution. If Tsvangirai had done this they would have withdrawn the senate candidates, Nyathi added.