BULAWAYO - Leader of the smaller MDC faction, Welshman Ncube, who spent almost nine months in hibernation after losing resoundingly in last year’s harmonised elections, has re-emerged to pick up the pieces of his humiliating defeat.
Ncube who had disappeared from the political radar appeared calm and confident as he addressed journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club on Wednesday.
With speculation swirling about the future of his party after the departure of key members coupled with his silence, Ncube finally put to rest all the widespread public hearsay.
“Some of you in the media used the word hibernation, I was often quite amused to hear some of you describe me as being some hermit in some rural outpost with long white hair and long beard, almost like Comrade Disaster, who after the end of war in 1980 remained hiding in caves for years not knowing that the year was over,” Ncube joked.
“I was never a hermit. Our position was very clear, that we could not continue to do the same old things over and over again; continue to be in denial, or shout slogans about stolen elections,” he explained.
Ncube bemoaned how his party suffered defeat despite having put everything in preparation for the election.
“I have no doubt that as a party, from our congress in 2011 to the election, we had worked harder than any other political party. We covered the width and breadth of this country while others were not even interested in political campaigns at that time. The election outcome totally negated the election work we had done,” Ncube admitted.
“It was as if we had done nothing. We kept asking ourselves after the elections why is it so possible; why is it so easy for people to vote so resoundingly against themselves. Why is it so difficult to us as an electorate to understand that the very purpose of government is to put in place a group of men and women who will impact directly daily on our lives.”
The MDC president, who recently restructured his party in a bid to bolster its performance, said of late they had been reflecting on issues that led to their loss as well as the future of the party.
Clarifying the departure of some of his lieutenants, Ncube said: “If you have in the inner circle of the leadership people who are doubting Thomases as to the principles and values about the ideologies of what the party stands for, trust me, you are far better off without them. If we spend more time doing political work than doing conflict resolution around individualism, I think we are better off as a party.”
Since the elections, Ncube lost some of his senior party cadres including Qhubani Moyo, Malandu Ncube, Edward Mkhosi and Edwin Ndlovu among others.
Ncube admitted that a united opposition based on common values and principles was the way to go.
“An organised opposition, united by common commitments in words and deeds to transcendental fundamental value, an opposition which is sincere and people believe in their sincerity, is what is needed,” Ncube said.
He said there was no way people could believe in a party that did not believe in itself.
“If we can capture that momentum and make people believe again, not only can we be victorious but we will be victorious.”