Factionalism rocks Mujuru’s ZPF province in South Africa

By Mugove Tafirenyika

The South Africa Province of Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) has been rocked by factionalism, with a camp aligned to party elders Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo being accused of seeking to overthrow interim leader Joice Mujuru.

In an October 20 letter to the ZPF interim National Executive Council, the ZPF leadership in South Africa, led by interim provincial youth leader Darlington Sibanda, requested the urgent intervention of national leaders to solve the “crisis” threatening to tear the province apart.

Sibanda complained that he and other provincial leaders were being “unfairly” accused by their colleagues, who include interim provincial convener, Francis Mufambi and Lawrence Mavhaire, of creating parallel structures loyal to Mutasa and Gumbo.

The province called for the recalling of Mavhaire and Mufambi to pave way for “an extraordinary meeting to democratically select the best team to run the province.”

The executive also expressed dismay with the way the party was being run, especially regarding a coalition that  ZPF allegedly went into with other opposition parties to campaign for the Diaspora vote, which the SA province says was entered into  without their input. Daily News