Challenges Faced in Establishing a Foreign Party Branch – The U.K Experience

The Nick Mangwana Interview by ZANU PF Patriots Group

MODERATOR: CDE M CHIONDEGWA  (ZPF PATRIOTS INFORMATION SUPREMO)

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INFORMATION SUPREMO will be lead moderator.Commander Nick; for the record and in brief, who is Nick Mangwana and how did you end up in politics in general and ZANU PF in particular?

ZANU PF UK Chairman; Cde Nick Mangwana

COMMANDER NICK: Nick Mangwana is a Patriotic Zimbabwean. A father of 2 adult children. A husband of 1. Hailing from Masvingo. Grew partly in Mashwest. Worked in Zim. Has been nvolved ZANU PF actively from 1995. Been in the UK for 17 years. Regarding how it started really, is that I was campaigning for a family member who for disqualified from an election on the usual political technicals. We agreed I had to stand. I wasn't disqualified. That's how it started. A family member who for political reasons was unfairly disqualified. Then in the UK felt the Zimbabwean story was being told from a skewed angle. There was no representation of the real Zimbabwean story.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: OK. So in other words you got into it by default?

COMMANDER NICK: In the beginning I was just being a good brother who was supporting a family member. I was a member of the party but had no desire to be active but the political sensibility was awakened because of an injustice. But that was 21 years ago. Everything that has followed was

now based on consciousness.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Noted.Commander Mangwana UK ZANU PF District or  branch (correct us there) is one of the best or is touted by some as arguably the best organised Districts of the diaspora branches, could you walk us through how this was managed and how you have been able to maintain it vibrant for so long?

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you. Firstly there was no ZANU PF activity in the open because of the hostile foreign relations between our countries. There were so many lies being told I'm the media. There were ZANU PF supporters underground of course. The only really active member was Prof George Shire who has lived in the UK since the early 70s. We were aware of how victimised he was after appearing on TV defending the land reform and elections. It was bad. So some of us used to come to Zimbabwe during elections and land the party our support but only spoke ZANU PF politics with like-minded people. But with the Conservative Gvt coming into power we decided to change tactics. By then a lot of Zimbabweans had naturalised in the UK so the threat to them was minimal. We differed with some of our Cdes who thought were being reckless by coming out in the open. But we felt there was nothing to lose. We could ask the gvt and they could only say No. We sought mandates from the party in Harare and that proved to be a monumental challenge as well. There

was dysfunction.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Cld you perhaps highlight the challenges you faced in attaining the mandate?

COMMANDER NICK: Like all initiatives there were some who jumped in withtheir agenda. We were proceeding according to a Blueprint we had done so we were meticulous but others just wanted to just be out there with no plan.

Challenges:????People at HQ had different interests and there was no harmony and there was no point person to deal with. We were under External Relatjons, Admin, Commissariat and even Science and Technology. Therefore with so many point persons factions are automatic result. Then the Diaspora is a unique group. They love initiatives. They come in hordes for their selfish agendum.

So we ended up with a couple ZANU PF-UKs.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So how did you over come all these challenges?

COMMANDER NICK: It was now a question of who had the people, who had worthy one objectives and of course who had the party history. We had all the above and initially the HQ let us

runs like that until the right outfit emerged because of consistency Others fizzled out as they had just jumped on an initiative without a clue on the vision. The branding of the structure was also key. On the first place it is is who had applied to the British for permission. They asked for our personal details including addressees and other sensitive info. Others Chickened out. We braved it.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Interesting....you mentioned the issue of factions but some may argue that factions are a way of politics and perhaps it was coz of them that you became resolute eventually came out tops.

COMMANDER NICK: Yes. They come with the territory. The genuine will always overcome the counterfeit. Our next agenda was to take the British head on, on the Sanctions.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: What was their reaction n how much success did you score there?

COMMANDER NICK: This was a mammoth task considering our then. Positions on both the party totem pole and the fact that there was an embassy albeit scared to even visit the Foreign and Commonwealth office. We scored very good successes. Firstly once we had set up meetings with the British and gave the OPC our Agenda, we were summonsed to Harare for briefing.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Impressive, you dared to tread where angels feared and yet you were not fools were you?

COMMANDER NICK: We met up with the Chief Sec and the Perm Sec for Foreign and we got our briefing from Chaminuka, then from VaMutasa and when we eventually came back we were really primed. So the talks started obviously very much under wraps though I have to admit we got the British Ambassador's attention by giving a "vuvuzela" speech on ZBC so by the time the talks started they were annoyed. Reports were given to the right people and the incremental reduction of sanctions started. On the media which is where our major battle was fought to win the hearts and arguments as well as the hearts and minds. We built alliances with Ben TV, Arise TV, Vox TV where we ran programmes under the banner Focus on Zimbabwe. This is what made the Zims in the UK and Europe aware that ZANU PF was operational on the ground. That became the major Commissariat job because our membership was built on the back of that. We also did radio programmes.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: This was obviously not an overnight event I suppose? Also who funded all this for it seems a lot of finance was required n a lot of up n down was involved.

COMMANDER NICK: No. It wasn't overnight but it was Mao's serious activity. We had a show on to every Wednesday. On Vox it was every other Thursday. These programmes were basically to defend the policies of our party and explain he historical context of how we came to be where we are especially on land. We funded these. The interest in Zimbabwe by both the world and

Zimbabweans meant that our programmes were funded by advertisers sought by the stations themselves. This was pre and post 2013 election. That interest of course has waned off.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Who were with you in all this? I m talking of your team,who stood shoulder to shoulder with you in defence of the party? And on the funding, like really? You funded all that instead of the party?

COMMANDER NICK: There was a lot of wining and dining of executives but at the end of the day the Pan Africanist agenda was the core competent in our pitch. We have never received a penny from the party. We have actually given HQ money instead Our Slogan "None But Ourselves" is one we live.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: This is indeed a challenge Commander Mangwana.

COMMANDER NICK: The UK comrades are convicted. Almost religious style to the mission that's called Zimbabwe.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: You keep saying we, meaning it wasn't a one man operation right?

COMMANDER NICK: We pay for all our trips for functions and briefings remember Cde. It was never and is never a one man mission. Yes I am the face of it but there are committed comrades around me. I carry the vision but we are a great team. It's not about me and should never be about me. You see the numbers that pays its own tickets to come for Congresses and Conferences.

At Congress 17 people came.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So having a team that compliments your efforts has been of great help isn't it?

COMMANDER NICK: It is a great help. No one man band ever plays all the tunes.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: 17? That a very high number isn't it? Considering the distance travelled?

COMMANDER NICK: It is high. These are people that are paid by the day and if they miss work they are not paid. They then pay their tickets and everything else So yes, I am humbled to be leading this team. Our Sec for Admin is in Russia as we speak. He is now managing Manyuchi and there is a fight. He was already sending me pictures of Zims he has met there who are interested in forming a ZANU PF chapter there. And of course we launched in Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Commander Mangwana. You spoke of the Congress n I understand the UK Branch was not also spared of the pre-n post Congress upheavals....You lost quite a number of your executive including of note Tichatonga Mwanawevhu or Mutyambizi who was your PC. How did you survive this n how hv you reorganised after this?

COMMANDER NICK: The people that fell by the way side are those that took factional positions. Our philosophy is to remain under the constitution of the party. If there is something we don't like, have no doubt, we will say it. But we will remain loyal. We are not blind followers. We see the shenanigans. They demoralise our Cdes. But we are not interested in sub-groups aka factions. It doesn't mean we don't have sympathetic positions as individuals.  If we play factional games we are finished. But we are not blind followers.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So your survival as a team was based on remaining rooted on the party constitution? Have you restructured or you simply did gap filling after the betrayal by your Cdes?

COMMANDER NICK: So even though we worked very well with both Shamu and Mutasa but when they fell we remained. We have structured our branches around. When it comes to having elections at the centre we were initially stopped by security for obvious reasons. We were initially due to have elections on the 28th of August 2015 but with the U.K. being considered the biggest national security to Zimbabwe the establishment is keen to have a big hand on who is at the helm. In between I was appointed the party rep in Europe. That gave us the impetus to set up all these structures around Europe. Once the electronic cards have been issued then it's now down to Commissariat where we go

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Interesting.....You have a lot of territory in terms of Area being from

England, Wales, Scotland n Ireland, how do you manage to bring all the individuals together? We won't ask you to delve into the security issues obviously but wld like to simply hear how you overcome the territorial problems n also the security issues in your structures....vis-a-vis penetration by hostiles?

COMMANDER NICK: We travel but we have slowed down on the roadshows. We had been asked by the OPC to popularise Zim Asset.There used to be massive interest in the roadshows. Now you talk of Zim Asset and you turn yourself into a diaspora joke. Most of the people that came from other parties somehow went to other parties. We had for example Tino Chinyoka. He stayed with us for over 2 years. Then pulled out an MDC card recently and started trying to get Sabina Mugabe exhumed from the Heroes Acre and also trying to impeach the President.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: ??????but he had been within the Structure or what?

COMMANDER NICK: Then we have had offers of sponsorship from a couple of whites and we advised them to sponsor the HQ. Other than that we work very closely with the embassy and

security agencies from the State. He was in one of our branches yes. But not in the UK leadership. (http://nehandaradio.com/2016/01/18/lawyer-and-mpsue-mugabe-over-national-heroes-selection/)

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Thank you for that clarification. Commander Mangwana, is it still disadvantageous to claim ties with ZANU PF in the UK or indeed Europe?

COMMANDER NICK: There are still others trying to get us deported. Clearly we can't get farms after what happened to our Cde, Dr Nyatsuro. He is one of our comrades and under that kind

of spotlight. It shows it's not yet a walk on the park. Having said that, everything that can be thrown at us has been. So really there is no more appetite for fighting us. There is currently an online petition to get us banned. If it gets 100k signatures then it will be a parliamentary motion. I don't know how many signature there are now.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: But wld they really succeed at that n what countermeasures against that have you put up?

COMMANDER NICK: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/120585. I just checked. A paltry 403 signatures. So if in more than 2 months they have this pathetic traction it's not going to even get 10k

We meet with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and we always put out these issues on the agenda. We still talking about the return of the "Skulls". So this has no legs .forgive the expression but it surely is a fart in the wind.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Tinotenda. Commander Mangwana, closer home, our SA district wc

from my view shld b a province has been buffeted by numerous problems n they are always extending the begging bowl, what advice can you give the leadership n how can they cover the vast territory they have?

COMMANDER NICK: I am too far placed to have a nuanced grasp of their issues but resources seem to at the centre. Forgive me if I am wrong. I think they need a war chest first. Focus on fundraising activities and be the epitome of transparency. Once the money is there and the

governance of that has integrity then you take away this distraction. Hoping there won't be fights over that too. We are on the same page regarding the 11th province. They know we ran into problems when their internecine struggles played out in front of the other 10 chairpersons and the NPC. They have to bury the pettiness and focus on the big agenda. I would like to know they believe they are in

existence. What is the chapter out to achieve. What are their objectives? Because without that there will be power struggles. But when leadership is about responsibilities then a few would want it.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Any suggestions on how they can raise funds seeing indeed it is their barne n they wld rather ask the party to fund them instead of the other way?

COMMANDER NICK: Vangakundwa namapositori?Dinner dances. There is a lot people can do it raise money. They know their social context better than I would. But they have a lot of party inclined business people there. They have a business breakfast with a top speaker or dinner. People pay top rand to attend that.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: As a person who has weathered several storms yourself starting with not being welcome to 4 subgrps n then factional desertion n still came out tops....what or how

do you suggest they do this?

COMMANDER NICK: I am not sure what their biggest problem is. Is it money or factionalism or the dreaded Tribalism? It is difficult to prescribe solutions without that but I would suggest they actually have a conference which they invite leadership from Zimbabwe. Us their comrades and we

all speak on different issues and on the agenda they put the things that bedevil their chapter. Normally from there harmony will start. Just organising this, true leadership will emerge. People gravitate towards a leadership that makes personal sacrifices for the cause. Leaders that benefit the agenda and not from it. Because those with single minded determination to make the structure a success will refuse to be distracted by secondary issues. I am sure some of you saw the insults and derision we had to endure from our so-called comrades. But we had to ignore that and focus on the

big picture. And being a Friday ....

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Thank you Commander Mangwana.....but allow a few

minutes of questions from the floor before you escape... Cdes....the floor is open...for questions or comments

COMMANDER NICK: Sure

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Only for 15 mins then we let Commander Mangwana go

enjoy his Friday

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you Sekuru- Cde Mandaza, go on. Cde Brian from SA

Cde Gift? Well...

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Kana SA District isina mubvunzo. Ok.....I see typing.

COMMANDER MANDAZA: Thank you for your honety.  Our greatest challenge is of people seeking to position themselves on factional lines? Secondly because of our distance from home some of our leaders have a take on The behaviour of some of us in the diaspora. Everyone has someone whom he knows and has said something.This has a negative flow of work. How have you dealt with such issues if ever you encountered them?

CDE BRIAN: Uhm i do not have a question but would like to take this opportunity to show our revolutionary love for all the support you have been giving us since the first day we thought of having a branch here in Cape Town...Thank you commander!! Ooh this just got into my mind, shall there be a time that we will have our own inter District meeting or conferences yeve Diaspora?!...

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you Cde Mandaza. That sounds familiar. It takes the leadership at home to resolve. This is definitely where one centre of power mantra works.

COMMANDER MANDAZA: As much as we are close home our communication channel has not been top notch to ensure that we are abreast with the goings on in the party. How have you ensured that you have updated information regarding party positions and policies as well as programs.

COMMANDER NICK: One day I went to HQ, I was given a pile of letters coming from different people through different HQ officials. A big Indaba was held at HQ and they said thatall party communications have to be done through Mangwana either way. Everyone who was meddling

with the U.K. Was read the riot act on that day. That established the course. All most all the letters were not only divisive, they were full of nonsense. The leadership has to be supported by the mother party. Otherwise you end up serving narrow interests of people at HQ. Writing a good report articulating the State of the Party in SA to HQ for the PB can help. Regarding information flow from HQ you have to be proactive. Establish relationships, work the corridors. Make yourselves relevant to the party. Not a burden to it. So we furnish reports of what we are up to and what our vision is.

Making yourself relevant is making the party need you and want  you to exist but adding value to it

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Commander Mangwana. Thank you for availing yourself on a day most of us are relieving ourselves of our weekly stress to take us thru your journey as UK District.

At this juncture I wld like to formally release you n declare this PT officially over.....Thank you Patriots for being such a great audience. 

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you cdes for having me. Sorry for the long answers. Enjoy the weekend. Regarding ZIMRA - Power to the people ??????

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