Zanu-PF has always been obsessed with power

Zanu-PF is a party built on lies.

One of the most-told lies by President Robert Mugabe's party is the constantly parroted claim that it (alone) liberated Zimbabwe, which is often sold to the gullible with no mention of the role played by the Mighty Zipra and Zapu.

As the now-late former Vice President, Joseph Msika always argued, it is indisputable that Zapu - the mother of the country's liberation, and its all-conquering armed wing, Zipra, played an unequalled role in delivering the killer blow to the colonialists and bringing independence to this country.

It is so unfortunate that Zanu-PF, due to its obsession with power and fame, will always lie itself to undeserved heroism through manipulation, alterations and unbelievable distortion of history at the beckoning of any opportunity, using its ill-gotten power to do that.

Just as they hijacked Ndabaningi Sithole's party, Mugabe and his cabal hijacked the country and have continued to alter events that brought independence, but as fate would have it, their lies have been exposed in the manner they have run down what was one of the most promising African economies. Their failure to run the country is clear evidence that they did not have a vision for the country even during the struggle, other than grabbing power at all costs. Right now, they pre-occupied with their hunger to keep power at all costs.

Even during the war, the Zanla slogan was to bring or have their leader take over power and rule through the barrel of a gun. While some of us fought for the freedom of all Zimbabweans, Zanu, which split from Zapu in 1964 in Tanzania, Morogoro after it had fanned some clashes at our camps, always stoked flames of division between freedom fighters as a way of feeding its demons of power.

Clashes started in Zambia at Mboroma, yet we had remained one from the beginning, despite certain misunderstandings. While Zipra waged the war against the Smith regime, the only war that Zanu cared about was against Zipra forces as they still carried grudges from what happened in Zambia and Tanzania.

Come 1979 Lancaster ceasefire, of which Zapu and Zanu were called to the negotiating table, and Zanu began to work underground with the British to sabotage Zapu and or try and completely destroy Zapu and kill Nkomo.

According to agreements made at Lancaster House, Zanu and Zapu were to come home in 1980 under one umbrella –the Patriotic Front and the two wings of the forces were also to be joined together under the supervision of Josiah Tongogara. All that was agreed by both parties, but before we knew it, Tongogara was killed and Zanu reneged from the original deal.

Long before Independence came, Zanu - with assurances of support to manipulate election results by the British, had already formed the Fifth Brigade, a crack party army meant to annihilate Zapu by butchering the people of Matabeleland.

Mugabe killed more than 20,000 people through Gukurahundi in order to feed his obsession with power, something he has continued to do today. While Zapu fought for and always spoke about land, Zanu only went to war in order to grab power. That is why the party's decision to redistribute land only came 20 years after independence. Even the violent and haphazard manner in which the land was "redistributed" speaks to an unplanned split-second decision to clutch at power, which was seemingly slipping away into the hands of the MDC. Zanu did not take land because people wanted it, but because whites, who "sponsored the MDC", had to be moved from it.

That the land benefitted the Zanu-PF powerful also speaks to the party's deliberate ploy to ensure that the poor remain beggars susceptible to manipulation by the rich and powerful, especially during election time. The end result being that Zanu-PF remains in power.

Zanu came home from exiled empowered by the British and the Koreans. As we came home, the first thing Zanu knew was that they would win the elections before we even went to the polls.

Soon after that election, all Zipra commanders were put to jail, using a list of commanders that included the names of Lookout Masuku and Dumiso Dabengwa. Some of our comrades who could not speak Shona disappeared and some were covertly killed as the party implemented its divide and rule tactics to tribally rapture in a then-united Zimbabwe. Prior to that, Zanla commanders had tried to disarm their Zipra counterparts at our assembly points, something that what caused the Entumbane battle before we even integrated into the national army. Later on, before we knew it, Zapu was accused of hiding an arms catch, leading to the unleashing of the 5th Brigade in 1981 with strict command to butcher all the people of Matabeleland and all supporters of Zapu. Nkomo, the Father of the Struggle, was accused of being the Father of dissidents and attempts were directly made at his life. Ask yourself why Mugabe and Zanu did that to their own brothers and Sisters who went to the front together to fight the regime. Butchering our innocent parents and children and burning people alive. All that was done to feed Mugabe's power obsessed demon.

Is it true that Zanu went to liberate the people of Zimbabwe?? Now, who were the dissidents and when did Zapu train them, when it was still fresh from the bundu? Can you see what Zanu was up to? With "degrees in violence" and "trained to kill", Zanu is only concerned with power, looting killing, stealing and destroying. It is no coincidence that the country is in shambles today.

For how long will Zanu keep on killing people destroying the country? They are focused on the wrong things - to destroy Zapu. Zapu will never die. Nkomo was poisoned by Zanu because he was still a threat to them. That he had cancer that was all lies. Zanu thinks they have done away with Zapu, but sorry!

Zanu played its dirty tricks all the way to try and destroy Zapu, but that will NEVER happen.

Chris Dube is an ex-Zipra combatant and member of Zapu.