SURVIVING members of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) High Command have admonished their colleagues in the Zanu PF-aligned Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) for seeking to prescribe a suitable candidate to succeed President Robert Mugabe.
Source: Ex-Zipra combatants gun for Mutsvangwa – Southern Eye June 15, 2016
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
This comes as the ZNLWVA leadership has reportedly rallied behind Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and was subtly campaigning for him to succeed the 92-year-old Zanu PF leader.
“For a leader to lead the people of Zimbabwe, that leader should be chosen by the people of Zimbabwe and not by war veterans alone,” the Zipra High Command said in an article published in the State media over the weekend.
“It is an aberration by misguided persons that a leader of the country was chosen in a meeting of combatants in Mozambique.”
Mugabe last week publicly dressed down war veterans pushing for Mnangagwa to takeover from him, describing them as dissidents. Mnangagwa has publicly denied harbouring ambitions to succeed Mugabe and challenged his detractors to prove he was clandestinely campaigning for the top post.
Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko has also accused war veterans’ chairman and former minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, spokesperson Douglas Mahiya and secretary-general Victor Matemadanda of being Mnangagwa’s runner-boys.
The ex-Zipra combatants added: “Can someone please educate comrades Matemadanda, Mahiya and Mutsvangwa that we are no longer in Mozambique, but in an independent Zimbabwe and that we have been independent for 36 years. The people of Zimbabwe have been electing their own leaders for the last 36 years. They should not use the organisation to pursue personal political ambitions because this may cause divisions and despondency and arouse suspicions. We seek to advise those with political aspirations that they should pursue them not from within the war veterans association.”
COMMENTS
ZIPRA High Command…..ZNLWVA Chairman and others are pushing for Cde Munangagwa to Lead the Party…..their push is based on Party levels…not for the Country….separate this point Comrades….
how many war vets were there in 1980 and how many are there now and how many can show that they are true war vets as there would seam to be more now than in 1980 ?
You are lying you just create a baseless story…..Gonzo be rich minded….Warveterans are not dying like fly…..in 1980 Warveterans were numbering 39 000 …at present they are about 34 000 Thousands….who told you that the Warveterans number had climbed to more that what it was in 1980…..we do not want to read lies in columns we need to really stories……..
These numbers don’t make sense. If there were 39,000 in 1980 there is no way there could have been only 5,000 deaths in 36 years.
Yayayo…..how many of the Warveterans would you like to see them dead:….check Cde Mugabe alone is still alive….how many in Warveterans Association have that long life span like their Leader Cde Robert G Mugabe?…………….
Again let us be clear on this matter. The people of our great Zimbabwe elect the leadership by election not the other way. You ZANUPF elect your own leader to lead your party just like any other party . What makes you Ex- Zanla fighters the custodians to elect a leader of your party. That is for all your party supporters to do , hende not you . This brazen act of foolishness on your part is what is destroying our country. The world must realise that ZANUPF are not representative of all the people of Zimbabwe , they were not even supposed to rule Zimbabwe in 1980 . That is why they have been doing all their machinations to the people of Zimbabwe for the past 36 years knowing full well they are not wanted.
The thing to note is that the war veterans are a very small minority of the population who want to wield so much influence in the country.
They think that they have a right to do whatever they want whenever they want just because they crossed the border to Mozambique or Zambia or whatever the case may be.
If you look closely at some of these war vets like Mutsvangwa they were only involved with the war effort for less than four years and out of those four years they want to exert so much influence on just about everything.
The war vets have been a scourge on Zimbabwe and I say this because if you imagine a Zimbabwe without war vets you can see where the country would be now. At least Zimbabwe would not be ruled by a murderous minority party called Zanu PF led by a geriatric who cannot see that he is way past his use by date.
THESE BO HADZA NENYAMA YEWUKU! WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CAN GOVERN! A BUNCH OF SELFSERVING JOKERS!
These war vets that are here today are…… the cowards……. who stayed in Zambia and Mozambique while the real fighters DIED for them in Rhodesia …..After the fighting is over now they want to claim the Victory……and of course the MONEY