By A Correspondent | ZimEye | President Emmerson Mnangagwa has vacated state house.
A press conference by war veterans’ leadership in Bulawayo concluded with the announcement that ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa officially abandoned state house duties a long time ago.
When President Mnangagwa on 12 March 2022 left State House and travelled to Chiweshe to install a convicted armed robber to the judicial chief position, he officially abandoned the duties of a president and became an armed robber accomplice, the ZIPRA war veterans association’s spokesman Baster Magwizi announced. Speaking during the second segment of a disrupted press conference, Magwizi said, When you left State House to go install armed robbers onto chieftainships, you abandoned State House and left the country with no president, so may you go well.
Magwizi also cited another incident where President spent 10 years since 2015 sponsoring an armed robber suspect, who is a fake inventor, Maxwell Chikumbutso to scam western investors USD125,000.
ZIPRA War Veterans Association spokesman Baster Magwizi declared that “Zimbabwe no longer has a president,” claiming the current head of state “vacated State House a long time ago.” Speaking alongside Andrease Mathibela, the Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), the two war veterans’ leaders called for what they termed a “national revolution” to address what they describe as the country’s deepening governance crisis.
The two addressed a heated joint press conference in Bulawayo on Monday, which was initially disrupted by security forces..
Magwizi: ‘The president is absent, governance is dead’
Magwizi’s statement was both defiant and accusatory, directly blaming President Emmerson Mnangagwa for enabling corruption, looting, and allegedly facilitating international scams.
“Our leader, the President, has been doing deals with convicted robbers and scammers,” Magwizi charged, alleging that the president played a key role in a scam that defrauded investors of over $125,000. “A whole President spending nine years assisting armed robbers scam the world suggests money laundering and financing of terrorism,” Magwizi said.
Calling on Mnangagwa to “restore his integrity within 72 hours,” Magwizi demanded that the president refund investors and distance himself from what he termed a “cryptocracy” running Zimbabwe into the ground. He warned that failure to do so would result in veterans mobilizing all “comrades” nationwide to take further action.
When asked if declaring the country leaderless was excessive, Magwizi stood firm, saying: “The country is ungovernable. It is now led by a cryptocracy, corrupt to the bone marrow. The governance is dead.”
Mathibela: ‘The center of power is the source of the crisis’
Echoing these sentiments, ZNLWVA Chairman Andrease Mathibela laid the blame squarely on the government. “By no means is this a poor country,” Mathibela said, “but the source of the problem is the center of power.”
Mathibela lamented the entrenchment of corruption, nepotism, and the emergence of dynastic politics, accusing leaders of “amassing wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens.” He revealed that various veterans’ groups had written to the Joint Operations Command (JOC) demanding accountability and respect for citizens’ rights to peaceful protest.
Mathibela also announced a mass demonstration scheduled for March 20, where Zimbabweans will be called to the streets to “peacefully show they have had enough of misgovernance.”
Rising tensions ahead of March 20
The war veterans’ statements mark one of the strongest public denunciations of Mnangagwa’s administration from liberation war figures, traditionally seen as pillars of Zimbabwe’s ruling establishment. The accusations come amid rising public frustration over economic hardship, endemic corruption, and a weakening local currency.
Magwizi described Zimbabwe as being “in time only” and accused the government of perpetuating “structural violence,” with poverty, joblessness, and industry collapse causing widespread suffering.
“We are really in abject poverty in Zimbabwe,” Magwizi said. “The welfare of Zimbabwe is taken away, and people are poor.”
The veterans’ statements have set the stage for a potentially volatile confrontation with state authorities.
It remains to be seen how the government will respond to this direct challenge from former freedom fighters, who once played a key role in the country’s liberation struggle.
Developing story…
video loading below…
Link to donate to bring more LIVE broadcasts on ZimEye gofund.me/7a76ca77