New Leader Of Opposition

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31275, 23 January 1967, Page 13

New Leader Of Opposition

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) GWELO (Rhodesia), January 22. A 50-year-old business man, Mr Percy Mkudu, was yesterday elected the new leader of the Africa United Peoples Party, the African Opposition in the Rhodesian Parliament.

The congress of the party in Gwelo elected him president and parliamentary leader of the party in succession to Mr Josiah Gondo. Mr Mkudu polled 58 votes against Mr Gondo’s 26.

Rhodesian-born, Mr Mkudu i attended school in Johannesburg where he obtained a diploma in social science. Re-

turning to Rhodesia in 1959 he worked as a welfare officer before being elected to the. Legislative Assembly in 1962. Call For Action Earlier yesterday Mr Gondo had called for political action against the policies of the Prime Minister, Mr lan Smith. He urged Africans to fight for majority rule by any constitutional means and called on all Rhodesian Africans

I qualified to vote to claim this right. He challenged Mr Smith to allow all literate Rhodesian adults to take part in any referendum on whether Rhodesia should become a republic. Mr Smith has said that a referendum would apply only to the present franchaise—an overwhelming white vote. Mr Gondo also charged the Government with sowing the seeds of communism in Rhodesia because its policy had produced sanctions, which had caused trade to slacken and unemployment to increase. The resulting discontent and frustration were just the conditions which communism sought, Mr Gondo said.