Zanu-PF infighting spills into war vets' body

RIFTS have emerged within the war veterans' association in Bulawayo province with some members rejecting the recently elected executive which they say is linked to ousted renegade chairman Jabulani Sibanda.

The war veterans have petitioned their leader Chris Mutsvangwa calling for the ouster of the new executive led by Cephas Ncube.

They said the new executive was generating a second centre of power that had created disorder among the war veterans.

Mutsvangwa, however, dismissed the war veterans, saying the elections chapter had been closed until the 2018 elections.

"The elections chapter has been shut save for Manicaland province which still has an interim leadership for a short duration. The next elections are constitutionally due in five years," he said.

"In the meantime I urge all membership to unite under the elected leadership. The focus is on business projects being blessed by our patron President Robert Mugabe. My ministry now primarily focuses on the new Zimbabwe economy and incubation of entrepreneurs out of crop of the long surviving, organised, disciplined and loyal war veterans".

The Bulawayo war veterans described the elections, held last month, as null and void, saying they were conducted in an unprocedural and unconstitutional manner.

They said some of the people elected into the districts were war collaborators and widows, not war veterans.

The secretary for the Roy Maphosa-led interim committee that was in place before the elections, Mitsho Ndlovu, said the new leadership was creating divisions within the association.

He accused the provincial secretary Victor Matemadanda of creating the divisions.

"A resolution was passed last year that those who boycotted President Mugabe's rallies should not be part of any elections but we were surprised when the people who denounced the President were imposed into the provincial executive. We were not happy with the procedure and decided to write to Mutsvanga appealing for his intervention," said Ndlovu.

"Matemadanda is virtually running the show. He is working with the national treasurer Robert Ncube, Cdes Matanda, Headman Moyo and Zenzo Ncube to fan factionalism among the war veterans. He endorsed Jabulani Sibanda's people and we will not accept this. We're calling for the nullification of these elections so that sanity prevails in the provincial structures."

He added: "We'll not recognise this executive or participate in any programmes because they are not recognising us as war veterans. There is nothing special about Matemadanda, he is a war veteran just like the rest of us."

His colleague Naison Mashasha said they wrote to Mutsvangwa to express their dissatisfaction at the manner in which the elections were held. "These people were not elected but imposed. We raised the concern with the election officer Brigadier General Choga and he promised to take the matter to the relevant authorities. We also informed Mutsvangwa about our disgruntlement but nothing was done. Ncube was not in Bulawayo at the time of the elections. We told him that the elections were done unprocedurally but he went ahead and introduced the new team to the chairman."

He said they were surprised that the people who called them rebels for attending Mugabe's rallies were thrust into power. The war veterans said Matabeleland North had a similar problem while Matabeleland South snubbed the elections.