Don't be afraid, Mujuru tells vets

Former Vice President Joice Mujuru has come out strongly in support of war veterans, who served divorce papers on President Robert Mugabe on Thursday, telling them to resist all fear and intimidation by the nonagenarian's rattled government.

Addressing a huge crowd that turned up in Marondera for her maiden rally in Mashonaland East province, Mujuru - who is also a war veteran - said the time had come to tell Mugabe that he was no longer relevant and that former freedom fighters would withstand the government thuggishly threatening to arrest them.

"I am happy with what war vets did. Imbwa dzinozvarwa musi umwe asi hadzisvinure musi mumwe chete. Ndinotenda nekusvinura kwakaita vamwe vedu (People do not get enlightened at the same time. I am happy that some war vets have now seen the light)," she told the cheering crowd that thronged Rudhaka Stadium.

"Kuma-war vets ndinoti musatyisidzirwe muchinzi tichakutorerai mapurazi, nekurega kukutambirisai mapension, kunyepa. Zvinhu izvi ndimi makazvirwira ndezvenyu. Saka musatyisidzirwe. (To the war veterans I say do not be intimidated by people who lie that they will take your farms or take away your monthly pensions. You are entitled to those benefits which you fought for, and so do not be intimidated).

"Tisu vacho macomrades, magandanga. Tiri kuti aipa mukuru uyu. Kwandinobva Mugabe akaita zera rababa vako anenge atova mudzimu. Hauchabvumidzwe kumushoropodza, kumutuka kana kumuitira chakaipa. Ndipo pandinganzi ndaida kuuraya munhu iyeye sei?

"(We are the war veterans and we are saying Mugabe is no longer fit to rule the country. Where I come from people of Mugabe's age are regarded as spirits and are not criticised or ill-treated. And to think I was accused of attempting to assassinate him is unbelievable," she added.

Mujuru, who now leads the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF), was hounded out of both the government and Zanu PF with other former ruling party heavyweights such as Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo on untested allegations of plotting to oust and kill Mugabe.

Mujuru's rally yesterday was significant because Mashonaland East is her popular late husband - General Solomon Mujuru's - home province, which was targeted by Mugabe during the hotly-disputed 2008 presidential run-off for having rejected the nonagenarian in favour of change.

Rex, the revered liberation struggle icon and Zimbabwe's first black military commander, was accused by Mugabe and other Zanu PF bigwigs of having engineered the 92-year-old's stunning electoral defeat to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in that poll.

Mujuru said she was fully behind the war veterans who have now cut ties with Mugabe, adding that the increasingly-frail nonagenarian had outlived his usefulness.

"Vamwe vemazera ivava ndikwo kwatinofanira kunge tichinorova hakata dzemunhu mupenyu tichibvunza mazano. Imwe mweya yava muZimbabwe yava kuda kuexorciswa (It is to people of Mugabe's age that we should be going for advice and guidance. Some of the spirits we have in Zimbabwe now need exorcising," Mujuru said disparagingly.

She also warned Mugabe against using police to break protests, adding that Zimbabwe was now ripe for a coalition of same-minded people and calling on opposition parties to unite for an assault at her former party and boss in the eagerly-anticipated 2018 national elections.