Njelele renegades are just a religious sect says Jabulani Sibanda

War veterans chairman Jabulani Sibanda has said the 568 renegades who attempted to visit the Njelele shrine last week are not former freedom fighters but just a religious sect.
The war veterans leadership two months ago also disowned the group after it caused a stir because of its series of unsanctioned visits to the shrine, situated in Matobo District. In an interview with the state controlled media on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day celebrations at White City Stadium on Tuesday, Sibanda said the group was not made up of war veterans, but were members of an unknown religious sect.
"I cannot continue commenting on those people because the whole thing is nonsense. We have always talked about their conduct that they are not war veterans. The truth is that this thing hurts me so much and I do not want to talk about it," said Sibanda.
"These people are a religious sect and we cannot comment on their issue because we are war veterans and not leaders of a religious sect."
Asked what measures his organisation would take against the group that has defied warnings by chiefs and politicians, Sibanda said.
"Authorities should act as they are the ones who should do something about it."
Sibanda recently said the group was made up of renegades after it called for his sacking.
The 568 caused a stir on Thursday when they descended on Matopos National Park and conducted rituals without the knowledge and approval of the traditional leadership from Matabeleland South province.
Meanwhile, political leaders in Matabeleland South yesterday condemned the group saying its visits were disrespectful.
Governor Angeline Masuku said the Njelele shrine was not a cemetery where bones of dead people are dumped, as doing so was tantamount to polluting an important place used by traditional leaders to ask for rain.
"Njelele is not a place where bones should be dumped. Kambe izulu siyabe sizalibona njani (how can we receive rains) if people pollute the shrine with bones of dead people? Now I am not surprised that there is drought, it is because of such misconduct," she said.
Governor Masuku castigated the chiefs that were involved in the visits, saying they had angered the region and showed no respect for the chiefs in the province.
"Those chiefs should take stock of themselves to see whether they were doing that for the good of the nation. Now we are wondering if those people really have the interests of the nation or they have a certain agenda. They should come out in the open and say what their agenda is and who they are working for and what exactly they are looking for," she said.
The Governor said church leaders should help the nation through prayers to contain such malpractice.
Zanu-PF provincial chairman Andrew Langa said the province was not happy with the group's behaviour.
"While Njelele is a national shrine, it would be nice that those who want to go there should first consult the leadership in the province. We were not informed and we are not happy at all," he said.
"It is wrong for chiefs from other provinces to walk into our province without the knowledge of the chiefs in this province. Let us not use the national shrine for our personal issues. There is a need for the higher offices to intervene so that this problem is stopped."
The group of war veterans made headlines early this year when it visited Njelele shrine twice without approval and reportedly conducted unsanctioned rituals.
War veterans, chiefs and political parties have roundly condemned the unsanctioned visits.
The group had said their visit had the blessing of senior Government officials and said Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Francis Nhema were aware of their visit and that Minister Nhema gave them game meat for consumption during their cleansing ceremony.
Minister Mohadi has distanced himself from the group and accused it of trying to bring him into their "stupid" activities.
The President of the Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira, is on record as saying the issue, if not handled properly, had the potential of fuelling tribal hatred and destroying the unity in the country.
He said the group was corrupting the country's cultural values and misleading the nation and his organisation did not condone that.
The custodian of Njelele shrine Mr Solifa Ncube (81) popularly known as Khulu Thobela has described the group's actions as uncultural and provocative.
Zanu-PF National Chairman Cde Simon Khaya Moyo also distanced the party from the saga.