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 BULAWAYO — The two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations yesterday temporarily set aside their differences to give the party’s co-founder Gibson Sibanda, a hero’s send-off.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told hundreds of mourners at the memorial service that he regretted the 2005 split that saw Sibanda and other senior leaders leaving to form a breakaway faction.
Tsvangirai described the split as the saddest part of his life but stopped short of calling for a reunification.
He said he was sorry for badmouthing the man he had worked with since their days at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
“The political developments in this country will never be the same again after the formation of the MDC but the saddest thing in my life is the split of the MDC.
“It represents the saddest part of my relationship with Sibanda,” Tsvangirai said.
The MDC-T leader said Sibanda whom he had known for 25 years provided “stability and guidance” in his personal life and political career.
“Gibson was a unifier and no one would have played that part (national healing) better than him,” the PM said.
Sibanda and Welshman Ncube, who is the MDC-M’s secretary general, led the breakaway from the MDC led by Tsvangirai following differences over participation in the senatorial elections.
Sibanda and others wanted the party to contest the polls but Tsvangirai overruled them leading to the ugly fallout.
“What we said after the split, I regret it. I am sorry Gibson for what we said at that moment, it was a moment of weakness and it was not worth it,” said an emotional Tsvangirai.
The service was attended by senior leaders from the two MDC formations.
Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa and various influential leaders in business and civil society were also among the mourners at the service held at the Methodist Church along Main Street.
Various speakers described Sibanda who was also one of the ministers in charge of the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration as a national hero despite Zanu PF’s refusal to accord him the status.
Sibanda will only be given a state assisted burial. The two MDC formations wanted him to be declared a national hero.
“He was a perfect candidate for the national hero status.
“His national hero status looms large…he was a man amongst man,” said former Bulawayo town clerk Mike Ndubiwa.
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara added: “He was an icon of the trade union movement, a freedom fighter, soldier of soldiers, and a hero of heroes.
“He was a leader, stabiliser, and unifier and never compromised on principles and values. He was a stabilising force.”
Nkululeko Sibanda, representing the late Sibanda’s family weighed in saying “his legacy showed that he was a hero regardless of what other people might say.”
Sibanda died on Tuesday morning aged 66 after a long battle with cancer.
He will be buried at his home village of Komcondo in Insiza this morning.
Sibanda became the first vice-president of the ZCTU in 1988 before serving as president from 1989.
He was unanimously elected Tsvangirai’s deputy at the inaugural MDC congress in 1999.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
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