HARARE - United People's Party (UPP) president Daniel Shumba has dissolved his fringe opposition party and returned to President Mugabe's Zanu (PF).

The former provincial chairman of Masvingo and Central Committee member is expected to announce the decision at a press briefing "soon". It marks the end of UPP, formed in 2006.

Despite being a fringe opposition party, the ambitious UPP first fielded candidates for the first time in the by-elections of Chiredzi South and Zaka East in February and March of 2007, respectively. It lost those elections but polled higher votes than Arthur Mutambara's MDC.

In the 2008 parliamentary election, the party put forward 79 candidates for the House of Assembly and 27 for the Senate in eight of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, but failed to pick up a single constituency.

Shumba, a Retired Zimbabwe National Army Colonel who self funded UPP, was denied a chance to run in the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election after allegedly arriving late to the nomination court. He later won a court application, but the judgement was issued well after the rerun election.

Shumba said this week he resigned from politics in October 2009, to continue his role as a business leader in Zimbabwe. He said he did not consider joining the MDC because of "poor judgement and leadership".

He denied he was doing it purely for economic reasons. Shumba's properties were supposed to go under the hammer at Ruby Auctions last Friday, but Zanu (PF) is said to have intervened, waving indigenisation mantras and saving the properties from auction. It is not clear if his planned return to Zanu (PF) was because he was paying a debt of gratitude to his former party for throwing him a lifeline.

Shumba was one of six Zanu (PF) provincial chairmen suspended in the Tsholotsho debacle that sought to block the elevation of Joice Mujuru to the vice presidency. After his suspension, a livid Shumba formed UPP, and in retaliation, the Zanu (PF) government suspended the licence for his TeleAccess, which was poised to be the second fixed line company in Zimbabwe after TelOne. Currently, there are vast business opportunities in the telecommunications sector, but it seems the opportunities are only available to those under the safe armpit of Zanu (PF). 

By The Zimbabwean