Some war veterans say they will not take part in the so-called one-million-men-march set to next week organized by Zanu PF youth to show their support for President Robert Mugabe.
The former freedom fighters, who came from all the provinces and numbering more than 500, gathered in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West province, on Saturday and noted that they were unhappy about the tension between the Zanu PF Youth League and war veterans.
The war veterans said a faction calling itself Generation 40 or G40, said to be sympathetic to First Lady Grace Mugabe, has allegedly finally realized that she cannot lead a faction in Zimbabwe.
Secretary general of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association, Victor Matemadanda, said members of the G40, who have no history of the liberation struggle, were taking advantage of the communication breakdown between the former fighters and first family before they met President Mugabe last month, to divide the party.
Matemadanda claimed that Mrs. Mugabe, touted by G40 as President Mugabe’s successor, has realized that she cannot lead a faction when she is the mother of the nation. The other faction is allegedly led by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who like Mrs. Mugabe, has denied having any presidential ambitions.
Matemadanda said the war veterans are not going to be part of the organizers of what he described as a poorly mobilized one-million-men march because they don’t want to be associated with failure. Matemadanda said some elements within the G40 faction want to use them in a last minute effort to save the much-publicized event.
The war veterans, whose meeting was punctuated with a lot of “Down with G40” slogans, said people who are trying to cause confusion in the party are the same people that say “there’s a plot to kill President Robert Mugabe in order to succeed him.”
They added that the people saying this should be arrested and forced to release the names of the alleged culprits.
Sanyati lawmaker and national war veterans secretary for business development, Runesu Blessed Geza, claimed that Zanu PF supporters, who are spreading lies to the nation that there are people who want to kill the president, must provide tangible evidence to the police or risk being arrested themselves for causing alarm in the country.
War Veterans Association’s consultative committee member for Kadoma, Jimaya Muduvuri, who is on whirlwind tour of provinces, says indications are that Vice President Mnangagwa and Mrs. Mugabe don’t lead any factions.
Jamaya, who is claiming to have been sent by Mnangagwa said to be his uncle to issue such a statement, stressed that the vice president won’t even try to take over the Zanu PF leadership when President Mugabe is still alive.
“I asked the vice president about this talk that he wants to wrestle power from the president while he is still around until 2023 but the vice president said he is not interested in that since he has been with President Mugabe for a long time. In fact, he told me that he respects the president.”
Geza said there is nothing wrong in Mnangagwa succeeding President Mugabe as long as that post is vacant.
The war veterans further urged G40 members such as lawmaker Sarah Mahoka who once told Mnangagwa to come out clean on allegations that he wanted to allegedly topple President Mugabe, to step down.
Contacted for comment, Mahoka said the war vets are misrepresenting facts and dared them to come and contest her if they think they are more popular than her in Hurungwe.
“Mai (Mrs.) Mahoka won’t be intimidated by anyone. I want real men to come and challenge me and see what will happen.” – VOA