Source: Mugabe vows to punish Zimbabwean war veterans who oppose him – The Zimbabwe Independent July 27, 2016
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe threatened to punish veterans of Zimbabwe’s independence war who last week criticized him and said they wouldn’t support him in elections in 2018.
Speaking to supporters in Harare, the capital, Mugabe, 92, said his ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front was trying to discover who released a document last week from the war veterans that described him as “a leader who has presided over untold suffering of the general population for his own personal aggrandizement.”
“We have assigned some leaders in the party to investigate the origins of this document and give the names of those distributed it,” Mugabe said. “They will be punished severely.”
Opposition to the government has swelled as the southern African nation faces an unprecedented liquidity crisis that’s led to civil servants, including the military, receiving salaries late and some private-sector workers receiving goods instead of salaries. That sparked a national strike on July 6 that shut down much of Zimbabwe. The country was also hit by riots as taxi operators protested against what they said was police harassment.
Mugabe repeated his allegations that western governments including the U.S. and France were trying to foment opposition to his administration. He also warned Baptist pastor Evan Mawarire, the 39-year-old leader of the #ThisFlag movement, against getting involved in politics. Mawarire has called for protests against the government.
“Once you begin to get involved with our politics, you are courting real trouble,” Mugabe said. “We know how to deal with our enemies who have been trying all along to effect regime change.”-Bloomberg
COMMENTS
Unopabva chete
Who does this Mugabe think he is?
Without the men and women that he is now threatening with punishment, and even death, he would have been a nothing.
Only a spiteful, talkative, power hungry mad man, living like a King in Maputo while they went into the bush to bravely face our enemy and often die.
Shame on him.
If these people who claim to be war veterans are real veterans they should come out open and diplay their reason of the combatant era unless they fought for hunger,starvation poverty & economic distress?
This Zimbabwe African National Un-Patriotic Front is all diseases at once – cancer, HIV, AIDS, diarrhea, kwashiorkor, brain maningitis, dementia, etc – we need a proper medication and real medical practitioners to solve the problem. So far we are only visiting the apostolic sect prophets, the novice sangoma and occasionally the nearest un-staffed rural clinic!!
• War veterans please musati nyadxisa , those who are chickening out and disassociating themselves from Thursday’s powerful, fearless , straightforward, honesty, nation building and national patriotic communique to the tyrant, destructive, heartless, unreasonable , unpatriotic selfish old mugabe you are letting Zimbabwe down. Why are you so afraid of this old man . He has been told the truth neamwe macomrades , ngaateererewo . We need the honey and milk that you guys fought for. Ndozvamaka rwira here kubvia udzvanyiriri hwemuchena muchiisa mudzvanyiriri mutema . You cannot even tell your own comrade kuti izvi zvakaipa, hanzi wapanduka ukadero. Chasiyana naSmith apa chii?Now he going to lock some your colleagues up and charge them with treason , exactly zvamiitwa naSmith.You have mafikezolos like Kasukuwere saying they must be flashed out and punished , so that he safe guards zvaakaba. At 92 vaMugabe chizororai .Zvinoto shamisa kuti you want to be voted back into office at 94 , when will you rest? Those who are advocating for his candidacy , are you right upsatairs, why are you being so cruel? Can you tell your father to go and look after the cattle at that, danga rinosara risisina mombe dzarasika nekudya muminda yevaridzi.vke
People must not be deceived, Mugabe has no supporters. He lost all in 1980s, which sane person would support a president who is never in the country for a good cause. The reason that he has not been flying all around the globe this time around is because of the serious threat he is facing. He has been choosing his devious ends at the expense of all of us. I guess the woman Sally Mugabe died a very bitter woman. While she was sick to death, Mugabe had the audacity of crawling in bed with another man’s wife and fathered Bona. While every one was struggling with cash crisis in the country, he was busy buying houses and properties left right and center in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Hong Kong. Education and Health crumpled right in his face, he decided to get his medication and sending his kids to learn outside Zimbabwe. Now the war vets are saying its enough, he want to kill and cause to disappear the same guys he has been deceiving all this while. Its time that the same war vets who has been standing all out with him not knowing he was never with them but with his clique of family and military guys like Chiwenga who he promoted despite failing the officer’s exams and almost committed suicide. They mus liberate the country, take their AK 47 they been claiming and fight to the bitter end. Now its time to liberate the country from the tyrant called Mugabe
I PERSONALLY APPLAUD THE SCETION OF WAR VETERANS WHO STOOD UP TO MUGABE AND SHOWED HIM THE RED DOOR. WHAT IS LEFT IS FOR THEM TO PUBLICLY DECLARE THEMSELVES. I WOULD BE THE FIRST ONE TO SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE AT LEAST THEY REPRESENT A WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION WITH A CONSCIENCE. THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE WILL NEVER DISCARD GENUINE WAR VETERANS WHO BROUGHT THE PEACE THAT HAS NOW BEEN BROKEN TO PIECES BY MUGABE
Mr. Mugabe, yes we know how to deal with our enemies! You are enemy No 1, and we will deal with you appropriately.
Even if he deals with them that will not make people love him and support him come next election. The old fool is holding the nation ransom at our expense and blames the west even for the corruption his party is involved in.
At least he has now clearly articulated his political and personal philosophy – if you criticize him, you will be severely punished. It’s not confined to political opponents, or any particular section of society. Iy’s a warning to the entire planet – if you criticize Robert Mugabe, you will be severely punished.
What I find the most interesting about this, is that Zimbaweans collectively have permitted this man to remain in power for 36 years – and there is no-one else to blame.
Agreed, end of story.
Criticize mugabe all you like ……… he is not running the country but is simply a convenient figurehead being used by “others”. Remove these “others” and you remove mugabe automatically. For “others” read Joint Operations Command or JOC.
The war vets (if they really are) are quite mature in age and probably depend in some way on the government for their sustenance. Many of them are becoming frail and will be easy to physically hurt. So lets not encourage them to do anything that we do not have the guts to do ourselves. Rebellion is a young man’s sport.
Even if Mugabe is removed by whatever means, there is no suitable replacement for him on the horizon. Anyone in a position to replace him is the same as him. ZANOO is totally corrupt. There is not an honest man in it. Even if the grim reaper takes him, the scramble for positions in the succeeding party will make things worse by at least an order of magnitude. For how long no one knows.
Zimbabwe will never return to the ‘milk and honey’ days of Rhodesia. Only uncertainty, suffering, violence, robbery and high crimes and misdemeanors is the future of the ordinary Zimbabwean.