News / National
Militia gangs in ZANU PF: Ex-member speaks out
23 Nov 2018 at 10:40hrs | Views
A former ZANU PF activist Setfree Mafukidze has for the first allowed Zimbabweans to peep into the dreaded militia gangs that are used by the party to inflict violence on opposition members.
Mafukidze left ZANU PF during the purging of Gamatox faction that was aligned to Former Vice President Joice Mujuru.
His testimony comes at a time when another Former ZANU PF member and terror group leader Jim Kunaka gave a shocking detail of ZANU PF militia gang violence in front of the Kgalema Motlanthe commission.
We publish Mafukidze's testimony below:
I joined Zanu PF in 1997 having completed my Ordinary level the previous year and I was unemployed at the time. I had grown up an admirer of Robert Mugabe,the late Mozambican President Samora Machel, General Solomon Mujuru, Che Guevara, and Nelson Mandela.
I believed that if I wanted to be a politician the only party I could do that in was Zanu PF. I wanted in on the revolution and the transformation of the country from white rule to the black majority rules. I thought to myself that soon Mugabe would be gone and us the young take over.
I became very active in Zanu PF in the early 2000s around the time when the land reform exercise was at its peak. I believed Mugabe was right. I believed it was our land and we had to take it back and I believed we deserved all of it .
During the land reform I got to know of the existence of militia gangs in Zanu PF. I was based in Marondera at the time. There were two gangs of that nature in Marondera; one from the Dombotombo side known as The Leopards and another the Nyameni gang that had a code name Gudo.
The Gudo and the Leopard gangs were made up of young people who were fearless by their nature and they joined war veterans during farm takeovers and were very instrumental in the dispatch of violence ,intimidation and displacing opposition political parties members.
The two Marondera gangs were very powerful and at first. I often wondered where they got so much power and I later learnt they were financed and given adequate back up by various political Godfathers in Zanu PF who believed these young cadres would protect their powerful posts.
It was not in me to be a member of such gangs. I always believed I had been educated and raised good enough to see what was wrong and right.By virtue of my involvement in Zanu PF youth league I ended up getting a lot of information relating to the gangs.
These gangs were never arrested by police because police feared them. If at all police arrested one gang member for whatever reason the whole gang would besiege the police station in protest. If that failed an emissary would be sent by The Godfathers to handle the situation.
Harare had Chipangano. It was empowered,well-resourced and seemed more organised (in gangster terms) it was the militant wing of ZPF Harare Province though they could be called in to assist in other Provinces. Jim Kunaka led it after its leader Ali Khan Manjengwa was shot dead.
Chipangano was powerful that they had guns. They ran commuter bus ranks, working with urban transporters association. They ran markets and collected enough money to fund themselves, if they ran short they would get funds from the Godfathers and Godmothers.
Kwekwe had what was known as Al Shabaab which was also a Militia affiliated to Zanu PF.It was behind a number of terror acts in the Midlands Province. it was and probably still is powerful because it has the money and influential politicians some of whom lead Zimbabwe today.
In Chinhoyi there was yet another gang known as Top Six wholly funded by Zanu PF kingpins and made sure that everyone tows the Zanu PF line there.
In Manicaland there was a gang which reported to and was resourced by the then all powerful Minister of State Security popularly known as Nine Fingers.
The short if it is that Zanu PF was very much aware of the existence of terror militias and they sponsored them.
Anyone who wants to separate the Militia gangs I mentioned from the current crop of Zanu PF leaders is mistaken. They enlisted the services of these gangs when need arose, they used them to perpetrate some of the worst crimes and protected them.
In the next few days I will be discussing the activities of the Marondera gangs and who funded and protected them. Do not miss that one too. I will also explain how I met Jim Kunaka.
ZANU PF under the Mnangagwa administration has posed as a peaceful institution that has reformed from the one led by Robert Mugabe which was punctuated by terror.
Mafukidze left ZANU PF during the purging of Gamatox faction that was aligned to Former Vice President Joice Mujuru.
His testimony comes at a time when another Former ZANU PF member and terror group leader Jim Kunaka gave a shocking detail of ZANU PF militia gang violence in front of the Kgalema Motlanthe commission.
We publish Mafukidze's testimony below:
I joined Zanu PF in 1997 having completed my Ordinary level the previous year and I was unemployed at the time. I had grown up an admirer of Robert Mugabe,the late Mozambican President Samora Machel, General Solomon Mujuru, Che Guevara, and Nelson Mandela.
I believed that if I wanted to be a politician the only party I could do that in was Zanu PF. I wanted in on the revolution and the transformation of the country from white rule to the black majority rules. I thought to myself that soon Mugabe would be gone and us the young take over.
I became very active in Zanu PF in the early 2000s around the time when the land reform exercise was at its peak. I believed Mugabe was right. I believed it was our land and we had to take it back and I believed we deserved all of it .
During the land reform I got to know of the existence of militia gangs in Zanu PF. I was based in Marondera at the time. There were two gangs of that nature in Marondera; one from the Dombotombo side known as The Leopards and another the Nyameni gang that had a code name Gudo.
The Gudo and the Leopard gangs were made up of young people who were fearless by their nature and they joined war veterans during farm takeovers and were very instrumental in the dispatch of violence ,intimidation and displacing opposition political parties members.
The two Marondera gangs were very powerful and at first. I often wondered where they got so much power and I later learnt they were financed and given adequate back up by various political Godfathers in Zanu PF who believed these young cadres would protect their powerful posts.
It was not in me to be a member of such gangs. I always believed I had been educated and raised good enough to see what was wrong and right.By virtue of my involvement in Zanu PF youth league I ended up getting a lot of information relating to the gangs.
These gangs were never arrested by police because police feared them. If at all police arrested one gang member for whatever reason the whole gang would besiege the police station in protest. If that failed an emissary would be sent by The Godfathers to handle the situation.
Harare had Chipangano. It was empowered,well-resourced and seemed more organised (in gangster terms) it was the militant wing of ZPF Harare Province though they could be called in to assist in other Provinces. Jim Kunaka led it after its leader Ali Khan Manjengwa was shot dead.
Chipangano was powerful that they had guns. They ran commuter bus ranks, working with urban transporters association. They ran markets and collected enough money to fund themselves, if they ran short they would get funds from the Godfathers and Godmothers.
Kwekwe had what was known as Al Shabaab which was also a Militia affiliated to Zanu PF.It was behind a number of terror acts in the Midlands Province. it was and probably still is powerful because it has the money and influential politicians some of whom lead Zimbabwe today.
In Chinhoyi there was yet another gang known as Top Six wholly funded by Zanu PF kingpins and made sure that everyone tows the Zanu PF line there.
In Manicaland there was a gang which reported to and was resourced by the then all powerful Minister of State Security popularly known as Nine Fingers.
The short if it is that Zanu PF was very much aware of the existence of terror militias and they sponsored them.
Anyone who wants to separate the Militia gangs I mentioned from the current crop of Zanu PF leaders is mistaken. They enlisted the services of these gangs when need arose, they used them to perpetrate some of the worst crimes and protected them.
In the next few days I will be discussing the activities of the Marondera gangs and who funded and protected them. Do not miss that one too. I will also explain how I met Jim Kunaka.
ZANU PF under the Mnangagwa administration has posed as a peaceful institution that has reformed from the one led by Robert Mugabe which was punctuated by terror.
Source - Byo24News
