Opposition People’s Unity Party (PUP) leader Herbert Chamuka has criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent politburo reshuffle, arguing that the demotion of Obert Mpofu disregards the historical agreements of the 1987 Unity Accord.
In a reshuffle announced this week, Mnangagwa reassigned Mpofu from his influential post as ZANU-PF Secretary for Administration to the relatively minor role of Secretary for Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The politburo is the party’s highest decision-making body, and its resolutions are binding.
Chamuka said the move undermined the legacy of the Unity Accord and diminished the standing of one of the most prominent ex-ZAPU leaders.
“The reshuffle which was done by the president Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa wasn’t good to the history of the country.
"There are individuals within the government and ZANU-PF who are respected, who hold the strongholds of the party, and who were devalued by being taken from respected positions and appointed to posts that should be given to younger members. Obert Mpofu is one of them,” Chamuka said.
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He added that Mnangagwa should “give Obert Mpofu respect and his actual party position” in line with the Unity Accord.
The Accord, signed between Robert Mugabe’s ZANU and Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU in 1987, guaranteed that senior ZAPU figures would hold influential posts, including one of the two vice-presidential seats.
When Vice-President John Nkomo died in 2013, discussions within ZANU-PF reportedly pointed to Mpofu as a possible successor.
At the time, his stature as a Matabeleland leader and former ZAPU cadre positioned him as one of the natural beneficiaries of the agreement.
“According to history, one of the vice-presidential posts was reserved for ZAPU.
"After John Nkomo’s death, Obert Mpofu was supposed to be considered.
"Instead, he has been moved into lesser roles, which is a clear devaluation compared to what the Accord promised,” Chamuka argued.
ZANU-PF activist Tonderai Chidawa, however, defended the reshuffle, saying Mpofu had failed to unite the party.
“His demotion reflects concerns within the party over his leadership and possible ties to a dossier that implicated senior officials in corruption,” Chidawa said.
Chamuka dismissed such reasoning, insisting that the broader issue was about honouring the Unity Accord and restoring balance between the former liberation movements.
“We complained about Robert Mugabe’s leadership, and now we are complaining about Emmerson Mnangagwa.
"But we have never tested leadership from the ZAPU side. That is why this Accord must be respected,” Chamuka said.
The Unity Accord ended the bloody Gukurahundi conflict in Matabeleland and merged ZAPU and ZANU into ZANU-PF.
It remains one of the foundational documents of Zimbabwe’s post-independence politics.
For Chamuka, failing to uphold its spirit risks reopening old wounds and alienating long marginalised communities.