Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Dumiso Dabengwa is seen here at the PF ZAPU Congress in December 2008. This was the first Congress after the breakaway from ZANU PF. There were disturbances last week in Bulawayo when youths and elders clashed in Luveve and ended up fighting. It is alleged that Cyril Ndebele, the former Speaker of Parliament who is now a member of the PF ZAPU breakaway party, was found addressing youths and urging them to dump Dabengwa in his favour Harare, Zimbabwe, 10 December 2009 Scores of youth from Dumiso Dabengwa's revived PF ZAPU have been detained by police after an altercation with Elders of the party in the Bulawayo Suburb of Luveve. Dumiso Dabengwa, a former Commander of ZIPRA guerillas during Zimbabwe war of independence (Chimurenga), broke away from ZANU PF, throwing a Unity Accord signed by Mugabe and Dr Joshua Nkomo, founding president of PF ZAPU in 1987 into disarray. He has since been joined in the revived party by high-profile figures such as former Speaker of Parliament, Cyril N...

Mugabe at the burial of Vice President Joseph Msika: the president's reluctance to appoint John Nkomo to the post of VP, which led to him considering Dumiso Dabengwa for the post, is now very apparent within ZANU PF, which has led to a free-for-all, with all sorts of jokers throwing their names into the ring in the hope of catching Mugabe's eye. There is only one other name Mugabe has mentioned besides Dabengwa's as a possible candidate. The rest are simply trying their luck, knowing that they will not be penalised for challenging Nkomo. Harare, Zimbabwe, 30 October 2009 When we broke the story about Mugabe's approach to Dumiso Dabengwa to consider the Vice-presidential post made vacant by the death of Joseph Msika, we also revealed that the Zimbabwean president was not too keen on John Nkomo, who should rightly take over the post as the most senior remaining ZAPU leader within the ZANU PF structures. Other members of ZAPU who have remained in ZANU PF have been embolden...

"Oh my head!" - Robert "The Solution" Mugabe is being given a headache by the process of selecting one of his vice-presidents. The Matabeleland provinces, who had been asked to nominate a candidate from within the former PF ZAPU structures have now refused to do so and instead say the process should be a national one and not a tribal one. Harare, Zimbabwe, 15 October 2009 Nominations for a person to replace the late Vice President Joseph Msika have turned chaotic, with the ZANU PF provinces in Matabeleland failing to agree amongst themselves on a candidate. As a result of this, the Matabeleland region has now asked the ZANU PF Politburo to ask all ten provinces in Zimbabwe to nominate someone to replace Msika. The Politburo of Mugabe's party had only asked its Matabeleland structures to nominate someone to replace the VP. Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the useless former minister of information and publicity and a Politburo member told reporters: "Yes, we did meet as B...

Dumiso Dabengwa, together with Lesabe, who declared for ZAPU in December last year, as well as others, is feared now by both Mugabe and Tsvangirai. He remains popular with the people but faces an uphill task against the united dictatorship and intolerance of the two major parties. But the MDC, instead of courting him, seeks instead to destroy him Harare, Zimbabwe, 14 September 2009 I am surprised that some people actually this is news. Thenjiwe Lesabe, who appeared at a workshop last week with ZAPU officials, openly coming out in support of Dumiso Dabengwa revived party, has been known to be with ZAPU from its formation. In and outside Zimbabwe, this was no secret. Her name, together with that of Dumiso Dabengwa, Effort Nkomo and others, was first revealed in December last year publicly. The Zimbabwe Times, in fact, announced that she was part of the group that had broken away on 23 December last year. Next thing we know, we will see headlines shouting that Effort Nkomo has joined ZAP...

Dumiso Dabengwa, seen here at Heroes Acre sitting just behind National Security and former Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi. Reliable sources are insisting on the story I broke a few days ago about Dabengwa being offered the vice-presidency. ZAPU itself, Dabengwa's party, was insistent that he will not rejoining ZANU PF, which is an entirely different thing from joining the government as Vice-president. The party has said in interviews and statements that an offer for Dabengwa to join the Inclusive Government as a Vice-president was "a different matter". Harare, Zimbabwe, 23 August 2009 You will recall that I broke the story about Mugabe's offer of the Vice-presidency to ZAPU Supremo Dumiso Dabengwa. The story spread like a wildfire throughout the world and it took some time before there was a response from ZAPU itself and Dabengwa. My sources are insisting that despite the denials by ZAPU, Dabengwa was indeed offered the vice-presidency and that the offer still sta...

Harare, Zimbabwe, 11 August 2009 Dumiso Dabengwa, the ZAPU leader and former ZAPU Commander, who is being offered the vice-presidency of Zimbabwe by Mugabe, is holding out and repeating his oft-stated demand for an apology from Mugabe over Gukurahundi. This is one of his two demands. Dabengwa is said to have also demanded that the healing process currently underway encompass Gukurahundi. You will recall I told you when I broke the story about a Reconciliation Commission that Mugabe had told Tsvangirai that Gukurahundi had "nothing to do" with him and he could only speak for the violence that followed the formation of the MDC. Very few people are aware of just how mortified Mugabe is over the Matabeleland massacres termed by then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe's government "Gukurahundi" - the early rains that wash away the chaff". The only time Mugabe ever came even close to making a public apology over anything was over the Gukurandi massacres, which he said ...

Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday 09 August 2009 A reader has just pointed out to me that a full day after I broke the story about Dabengwa being offered the Vice-presidency, NewZimbabwe have stolen the scoop and are trying to mislead readers that it is their story. Let them have fun, I say. Anyway. You have obviously noticed, if you read and listen to Zimbabwean State media, the sudden shift in the way Dumiso Dabengwa (known affectionately by all as DD) is treated by the media. Only a couple of months ago, the State media was pouring vitriol on the man who dumped ZANU PF and Mugabe's unity with ZAPU to revive the party of Joshua Nkomo. The State media at the time dismissed him as someone who had been "rejected" by the people of Matabeleland when he was in ZANU PF. They publicly sought to tarnish his Ndebele credentials by saying his surname was, in fact, Tavengwa, not Dabengwa. He changed his name to Dabengwa, the state media said, in order to Ndebelise himself. On the basis of t...

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe is gunning for Dumiso Dabengwa (seen here with Simba Makoni in Bulawayo in February last year) to take over the vice-presidency left vacant by the death of VIce-president Msika. Mugabe spoke to Dabengwa for more than hour yesterday t o put the offer to him. They will also probably meet after the burial of Msika on Monday. Dabengwa has been invited to the funeral at Heroes Acre, as has Simba Makoni. Harare, Zimbabwe, 08 August 2009 Robert "The Solution" Mugabe, in a shock move, has offered Dumiso Dabengwa the vice-presidency left vacant by death of John Msika. Only a few minutes ago, I confirmed this with two senior ZANU PF and government officials. Mugabe is said to have called Dabengwa yesterday and spent more than hour talking to him. Two emissaries have been dispatched to Bulawayo today to try and talk the former ZIPRA Commander into accepting the offer. Mugabe, in explaining his motivations yesterday, said that, most importantly, he ...