HARARE - Veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle have been caught up in Zanu (PF) power dynamics and the convoluted succession struggle, stalling the holding of a highly anticipated elective national congress of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA). Incumbent ZNLWVA chairman, Jabulani Sibanda, an abrasive war veteran who was suspended from Zanu (PF) in 2004 but later reinstated, has clashed with Joseph Chinotimba, who led thousands of war veterans and their supporters to
invade about 4000 white-owned farms since 2000, in an often-violent campaign marked by killings, beatings, kidnappings and other forms of intimidation.
Sibanda says his candidacy was confirmed in March at a congress boycotted by Chinotimba and his crew. Chinotimba said Sunday Sibanda had been voted out at a recent meeting of the association by 11 out of 16 executive members, accusing him of running the organisation “like a dictator”.
But Sibanda has refused to accept the decision, saying the meeting did not follow procedure. He accused Chinotimba of attempting to mount a coup. Amid the chaos is a third splinter war veterans faction dubbed Mwana Wevhu which is led by Retired Colonel Basten Beta, who says the faction’s patron is Grace Mugabe. The faction is also girding its loins to seize power. It demanded a congress “yesterday”.
The incumbent chairman Sibanda is said to be teaming up with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the leader of a Zanu (PF) faction which is battling for control against Vice President Joice Mujuru, to consolidate power over the war veterans body. The energetic Sibanda was suspended in 2004 as punishment by Mugabe for allegedly participating in an “illegal” meeting in Tsholotsho which was said to have been called to install Mnangagwa as Mugabe’s deputy ahead of Mujuru. He was later reinstated, and led the so-called million men march in Harare in support of Mugabe.
War veterans have become a factor in the contentious issue of choosing Mugabe’s successor, with aspiring candidates already using the former combatants to campaign for them in the lower ranks of the party. War veteran sources said Zanu (PF) heavyweights had developed a direct interest in the affairs of the war veterans grouping. Senior officials admitted the staging of the war veterans congress could open a can of worms. “The congress can divide the association. It happened after the one held in Umzingwane (1998) when chaos erupted as people fought over the outcome,” said a senior Central Committee member.
Post published in: News