War veterans maul Mugabe, Chiwenga

Angry war veterans yesterday vowed to escalate their attacks on President Robert Mugabe, setting themselves up on a collision course with military boss Constantine Chiwenga, who earlier this week warned Zanu-PF factions over their continued public brawling and attacks on the nonagerian.

This comes as well placed sources said that cracks were beginning to emerge within the ZNLWVA executive, as disgruntled ex-combatants send conflicting signals over their position on Mugabe.

Meanwhile, the Herald reported that the ZNLWVA chairperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said his association stood guided by Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantino Guveya Chiwenga's counsel that they must respect the leadership in Zanu-PF and Government.

War veterans, Mutsvangwa said, would give Gen Chiwenga's words the weight they deserve. Gen Chiwenga is the surviving most senior commander of the Second Chimurenga on the Zanla side.

Mutsvangwa said Gen Chiwenga was a very senior commander who seldom strayed into political issues and it was wise to listen and abide by his words when he spoke. On why some war veterans had of late been engulfed in negativity, Mutsvangwa said opinions differed, but the ideology remained the same.