OPPOSITION Zapu party has rubbished claims by self-imposed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu that he has engaged its leader Sibangilizwe Nkomo for permission to carry on with the job left by the late former Vice-President Joshua Nkomo.
Tshabangu last week claimed that he spoke to Nkomo and his sister Thandiwe who agreed that he should carry on with the job their father left in the unity government.
He said his party was in talks with Zanu PF for a government of national unity with further discussions likely to start this week so as to address the economic problems in the country.
Tshabangu said although they had not yet agreed with Zanu PF there were a lot of issues they had discussed and agreed upon behind the scenes.
“I have sat down with [my sister] Thandiwe [Nkomo], we talked and agreed. I have spoken to brother Sibangilizwe that they allow me to finish those talks that were not completed by Joshua Nkomo.
“We need to sit down to form a government of national unity. Joshua Nkomo did this in 1987, and [the] late former MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai did it in 2008 and there was change. We will also do it and we believe there will be change,” Tshabangu said.
However, Zapu spokesperson Richard Gandari dismissed Tshabangu's claims.
“Zapu has noted with utter disgust the glaring lies attributed to Tshabangu. In utterances he made on the VOA Studio 7 Ndebele bulletin which aired on Tuesday, Tshabangu claimed that he spoke to our president (Nkomo) whom he calls Bangilizwe Nkomo and his sister, Thandiwe, ostensibly to complete the unfinished business of establishing a GNU with Zanu PF,” Gandari said.
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“Nothing could be further from the truth. You lied to the world Tshabangu! The truth of the matter is that our president, Nkomo, casually met Tshabangu by chance, during Chief Dakamela’s traditional function in Nkayi on April 7. It was a mere handshake and photo opportunity on Tshabangu’s request.”
Gandari said out of courtesy, Nkomo obliged and spent at most a couple of minutes interacting with Tshabangu.
“Apart from cordial greetings and casual pleasantries, nothing of political substance was ever discussed. For the record, it was our president’s first time to meet the infamous Tshabangu in person.
“We find ourselves with the unenviable task of defending our good name from Tshabangu’s tattered brand. Association with his acerbic name has badly affected the dead and the living in equal measure.
“He is a radioactive entity, unfortunately hard to avoid during a public function. We believe Tshabangu is a drowning man, desperate to clutch at any straws for personal survival and political relevance.”
