Mugabe's hatred of the Ndebele continues even at his old age

Dabengwa resigned from Zanu (PF) last March to back Simba Makoni, leader of an opposition splinter group, in last year's presidential elections and a former Zanu (PF) Politburo member and Finance minister in Mugabe's government.

After Makoni came out third in the presidential race on March 29, polling 8,3 percent of the presidential vote, Dabengwa severed ties with Makoni and revived Zapu with war veterans from his Ndebele ethnic group. Dabengwa is now the interim president of Zapu.

Dabengwa still commands lot of respect among the Ndebele - the second largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe after the Shona of Mugabe. The Ndebele make up 20 percent of the 11,9 million population.
Among senior Zanu (PF) officials who resigned is Effort Nkomo, the former Zanu (PF) information chief in Matabeleland and deputy Tryphine Nhliziyo. There is also war veteran Andrew Ndlovu and many others.

Mugabe said: "I don’t know whether Dumiso and others have the right to withdraw from what has been a merger since December 1987 (when) that unity accord was signed.
"He wants leadership which he could not get within Zapu and he thinks it’s now the opportunity. But why has he taken so long to claim it? Why did he not claim it when (Vice President Joseph) Msika was regarded as the successor to (late PF-Zapu leader) Joshua Nkomo? I don’t know."

The Zanu (PF) Politburo which met in Harare Wednesday discussed the revival of Zapu and the threats it poses to Zanu (PF). Chairman John Nkomo was tasked with probing the new party and tabling a report. Mugabe accused Dabengwa of being a tribalist. Dabengwa was not immediately available to respond to the allegations.

Mugabe said: "Now he is forming his own. He thinks he will have support. You cannot in this country succeed on the basis of trying to push the leadership of one tribe. People are refusing.

"You can’t talk of tribe these days. It’s a real shame. It does not matter what guise he is using but we can see through it; that it is the Ndebele tribe (that he wants) to have the dominance."

The Ndebele people have long been hostile to Mugabe. In the early 1980s, shortly after independence, Mugabe sent his notorious Fifth Brigade troops to Matabeleland, where they were accused of killing thousands of civilian supporters of the then-opposition Zapu party.

source: http://www.zimdaily.com/news/dabengwa27.6970.html