The opposition CCC is divided over plans to re-admit former MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe as part of a party effort to rejuvenate the Matebeleland vote.
CCC vice President Professor Welshman Ncube ignited the debate when he posted statistics showing the declining opposition vote in Matebeleland while advocating for a United front against Zanu-PF which has been gaining ground in the largely ndebele speaking region.
The imperative of convergence & unity in the southern provinces which inform the strategic options we have for 2023 are the electoral statistics for the Parliamentary elections. They never lie nor do they yield to slogans & emotions. We can only ignore them at our peril!
“In Byo, in 2000, we mastered 84% of the vote. ZANUPF 13%. Others 3%. By 2018 our percentage share had plummeted to 45%. ZANUPF had almost doubled its share to 25% and others (who included Khupe’s MDCT) stood at 30%. Thus the majority of voters in Byo voted against us in 2018.
Welshman Ncube had this to say:
History records that when Emperor Sigismund was reproached for rewarding instead of destroying his enemies, as by that means he gave them an opportunity to injure him, the Emperor responded with the rhetorical: “What! Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends!”
