Terrence Mawawa, Chiredzi|While she is away in Dubai, war veterans and war collaborators leaders here have held a meeting and ordered a ban on First Lady Grace Mugabe’s name in party slogans. They ordered their members to stop chanting the Pamberi naGrace Mugabe slogan -in a fresh internecine struggle between the First Lady and the former freedom fighters.
The war veterans held a feedback meeting to update their members on the outcome of their encounter with President Robert Mugabe. In a move that has sparked a fresh wave of open confrontation between the veterans of the liberation struggle and Mrs Mugabe’s supporters, the war veterans openly denounced the pro-Grace Mugabe slogan during their meeting.
At the meeting held at Mutirikwi school in Triangle, the war vets said they concurred with her husband, Robert, that the slogan should be stopped forthwith.
Robin Hove an executive member of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, Chiredzi district told ZimEye.com following the meeting, only Mugabe’s name should be mentioned during sloganeering.
“Since the formation of the party or even during the liberation struggle, we never chanted slogans in favour of other people other than the president. Therefore it is not allowed to chant any other person’s name other than the president. Many people are lost and as war veterans, it is our mandate to properly guide them.
“Mrs Mugabe is the leader of the Women’s League and she does not deserve to be praised through slogans. We therefore wish to put the record straight,” said Hove.
The move is seen as the former freedom fighters’ direct response to Mrs Mugabe’s attacks on them during her rallies held across the country last year and early this year.
It is understood there are two factions battling to succeed Mugabe. According to party insiders, the war veterans back a faction led by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa while another group identified as the G-40 backs Mrs Mugabe.