News / National
Zanu-PF succession war claims more casualties
29 Feb 2016 at 04:33hrs | Views
African politics is by nature unpredictable and full of surprises.In Zimbabwe prophets of doom have never had problems predicting the outcome of every election since independence.
But none of them foresaw the fallout between president Robert Mugabe and different factions of his ruling Zanu-PF party and his shock troops,the war veterans. Despite all the political upheavals and dirty fighting within his party, Mugabe has emerged with little bruises.
Disillusioned party leaders who fear that Mugabe is trying to create political dynasty by vacating his throne to his family have locked horns with those supporting the First Lady's ambitions to succeed her husband.
The two factions at the centre of the succession battle are the Lacoste which is backing the man known as the crocodile-Emmerson Mnangagwa. Generation 40 or G40 is a faction compossed of new breed of young radicals determined to block the crocodile from ascending to the throne.
The name crocodile comes from the Zanla guerrilla Mnangagwa led during the early years of the war for independence.The G40 is campaigning for the first lady to take over from her husband when he dies in office since its clear he will not resign.
Caught between the two factions of the Zanu-PF power struggles are ageing veterans of independence war-the former guerrillas.
The war veterans,who served as Zanu-PF militia during the violent and chaotic farm invasions, have become the latest casualties of the succession war. It must be noted that the former guerrillas who have been sucked into the Zanu-PF power struggles are those who fought under Zanla, the armed wing of Zanu-PF during the war.
Its clear the succession war is taking no prisoners. Zipra veterans who are predominantly Ndebele and Kalanga have chosen not to get involved as they are viewed as outsiders in Zanu-PF internal wars.
In Zimbabwe contenders for the highest office on the land never declare their intentions openly. It could be seen as a direct challenge to the dear leader and a treasonous act.
Those with presidential ambitions tend to hide behind factions.
Going back to recent events in Harare where the war veterans were clobbered by the riot police, the former guerrilla fighters were probably at the wrong place at the wrong time. They had gathered in Harare after they had been misled by Chris Mutsvangwa, the minister responsible for their welfare.
Mutsvangwa who served as Zimbabwe ambassador to China and one time head of the state owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), allegedly told the veterans that they would be addressed by their patron and commander in chief, Mugabe if they came to Harare.
As it emerged later, Mutsvangwa had lied about Mugabe addressing the war veterans. The ageing former fighters, some of them looking frail were hoping Mugabe would shed light on why his wife Grace, has been holding political crusades where she takes pleasure in insulting them and those suspected to be backing Mnangagwa's presidential ambitions.
The crocodile has not struck and no one knows what he is planning but the First Lady is being warned to keep away from the river because it's the crocodile's territory. He is probably waiting for the right moment to strike at his opponents.
As it turned out Mugabe was not aware he had been scheduled to address the former fighters. Believing their grievances were being ignored, the war veterans staged a protest outside the party headquarters. The riot police descended on them with baton sticks, sjamboks and teargased the former fighters because their gathering was illegal.
Many who no longer had the energy to run tasted the brutality of the police who clobbered them with sjamboks and baton sticks. Some of the war veterans suffered injuries which needed medical attention. Mutsvanga fumed at the beating of the war veterans by the police accusing some of being ungrateful for the sacrifices of the war veterans.
Mutsvangwa has since been fired as the war veterans leader and removed from the association together with his wife, Monica. His second in command,Headman Moyo was suspended together with outspoken Victor Matemadanda.
It was a scene Zimbabweans never thought they would live to witness, the riot police beating up war veterans. Times have really changed in Zimbabwe. For more than 15 years the war veterans have been at the centre of human rights abuses and torturing opposition supporters at their clandestine bases. They abused anyone who challenged Mugabe. They had become law unto themselves.
Mutsvangwa was accused of being disrespectful to the president and of failing to unite the war veterans. His dismissal was announced by his enemy, Mandy Chimene who is also secretary for information and publicity in the association.
This time the list of sins committed by the war veterans included defending Mutsvanga who supports the Mnangagwa faction. For that they found themselves in the firing line. Mnangagwa has been the front runner for the presidency for the past 10 years until the young turks in Zanu-PF or the G40 group emerged to derail his ambitions.
Insiders in the party say the young turks want to employ dirty tactics to tarnish his image by directly linking him to the Fifth Brigade massacres in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the 80s. The mass slaughter of civilians in the two provinces left an estimated 20 000 dead and thousands more missing after they were abducted by agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) which was controlled by Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa was the state security minister during the massacres and was one of the masterminds of the ethnic cleansing operation code-named Gukurahundi-Shona word for the rains that washes the chaff before the spring rain.
If it came to voting by provinces,the G40 knows the Zanu-PF leaders in Matabeleland will not support Mnangagwa as Mugabe's succesor. Mugabe's wife has been blamed for the current crisis within the former liberation movement. Her divide and rule tactics led to the ouster of vice president Joyce Mujuru from both government and the party.
She also launched verbal attacks against Jabulani Sibanda, a former Zipra officer and one time Nkomo's bodyguard accusing him of working with Mujuru faction to topple the government.
Sibanda was later ousted as chairman of the war veterans with the help of Mutsvanga and others. Insiders said Mutsvangwa and his inner circle hated Sibanda, his Zipra colleagues and the Ndebele people in general. Sibanda was also rumoured to be alligned to Mujuru faction.
Mujuru's supporters in the party and government have been purged and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Grace certainly won that round against Mujuru faction that was crippled by her husband Solomon Mujuru's death.
Mujuru too had lot of support among war veterans thanks to her late husband who was popular with ex Zanla guerrillas. With mujuru elbowed out of the race,the battle lines have been drawn between the Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe factions for the presidency.
The Lacoste faction has allegedly told Grace to stay home and cook for her husband and leave politics to men. Grace supporters hit back accusing Mnangagwa of being a womaniser and a killer. The women are said to be fully behind Mugabe's wife and are determined to help her become the first female head of state in Zimbabwe.
But some accuse her of being divisive. While the Zanu-PF fighting plays out in public, one region has been ignored or forgotten, Matabeleland.
War veterans and politicians in the region see the power struggles in Zanu-PF as a Mashonaland affair or as they say in Ndebele 'impi yomndeni ayingenwa'. You don't interfere in family feuds. They have chosen to sit on the fence and watch the Zanu-PF house burn.
In Zimbabwe,where tribalism is institutionalised,the Ndebele and other tribes in Matabeleland have been counted out of the presidential race. To call for a Ndebele president is like asking America's racist white supremacist hate organisation, the Ku Klux Klan to accept a black president.
The war veterans have featured in almost all the political dramas in Zimbabwe dating back to the early 80s when some of them, still fresh from the war, were drafted into the Fifth Brigade to carry out massacres in Matabeleland and Midlands.
The former fighters have been involved in human rights abuses and were the architects of violent invasions and occupation of white owned farms from the year 2000. During their invasion of farms, they left a trail of destruction and dead bodies of white farmers who resisted the take over of their property.
Some of the farmers were killed without any provocation and no war veteran has ever been brought to trial for the murders and destruction of property on the farms. Had Zimbabwe been a democratic country, most of them would be in jail serving sentences ranging from murder, abductions, robbery, rape and looting of property belonging to farmers. But nothing happened to them because their actions, like those of Gukurahundi were sanctioned from above.
But none of them foresaw the fallout between president Robert Mugabe and different factions of his ruling Zanu-PF party and his shock troops,the war veterans. Despite all the political upheavals and dirty fighting within his party, Mugabe has emerged with little bruises.
Disillusioned party leaders who fear that Mugabe is trying to create political dynasty by vacating his throne to his family have locked horns with those supporting the First Lady's ambitions to succeed her husband.
The two factions at the centre of the succession battle are the Lacoste which is backing the man known as the crocodile-Emmerson Mnangagwa. Generation 40 or G40 is a faction compossed of new breed of young radicals determined to block the crocodile from ascending to the throne.
The name crocodile comes from the Zanla guerrilla Mnangagwa led during the early years of the war for independence.The G40 is campaigning for the first lady to take over from her husband when he dies in office since its clear he will not resign.
Caught between the two factions of the Zanu-PF power struggles are ageing veterans of independence war-the former guerrillas.
The war veterans,who served as Zanu-PF militia during the violent and chaotic farm invasions, have become the latest casualties of the succession war. It must be noted that the former guerrillas who have been sucked into the Zanu-PF power struggles are those who fought under Zanla, the armed wing of Zanu-PF during the war.
Its clear the succession war is taking no prisoners. Zipra veterans who are predominantly Ndebele and Kalanga have chosen not to get involved as they are viewed as outsiders in Zanu-PF internal wars.
In Zimbabwe contenders for the highest office on the land never declare their intentions openly. It could be seen as a direct challenge to the dear leader and a treasonous act.
Those with presidential ambitions tend to hide behind factions.
Going back to recent events in Harare where the war veterans were clobbered by the riot police, the former guerrilla fighters were probably at the wrong place at the wrong time. They had gathered in Harare after they had been misled by Chris Mutsvangwa, the minister responsible for their welfare.
Mutsvangwa who served as Zimbabwe ambassador to China and one time head of the state owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), allegedly told the veterans that they would be addressed by their patron and commander in chief, Mugabe if they came to Harare.
As it emerged later, Mutsvangwa had lied about Mugabe addressing the war veterans. The ageing former fighters, some of them looking frail were hoping Mugabe would shed light on why his wife Grace, has been holding political crusades where she takes pleasure in insulting them and those suspected to be backing Mnangagwa's presidential ambitions.
The crocodile has not struck and no one knows what he is planning but the First Lady is being warned to keep away from the river because it's the crocodile's territory. He is probably waiting for the right moment to strike at his opponents.
As it turned out Mugabe was not aware he had been scheduled to address the former fighters. Believing their grievances were being ignored, the war veterans staged a protest outside the party headquarters. The riot police descended on them with baton sticks, sjamboks and teargased the former fighters because their gathering was illegal.
Many who no longer had the energy to run tasted the brutality of the police who clobbered them with sjamboks and baton sticks. Some of the war veterans suffered injuries which needed medical attention. Mutsvanga fumed at the beating of the war veterans by the police accusing some of being ungrateful for the sacrifices of the war veterans.
Mutsvangwa has since been fired as the war veterans leader and removed from the association together with his wife, Monica. His second in command,Headman Moyo was suspended together with outspoken Victor Matemadanda.
It was a scene Zimbabweans never thought they would live to witness, the riot police beating up war veterans. Times have really changed in Zimbabwe. For more than 15 years the war veterans have been at the centre of human rights abuses and torturing opposition supporters at their clandestine bases. They abused anyone who challenged Mugabe. They had become law unto themselves.
Mutsvangwa was accused of being disrespectful to the president and of failing to unite the war veterans. His dismissal was announced by his enemy, Mandy Chimene who is also secretary for information and publicity in the association.
This time the list of sins committed by the war veterans included defending Mutsvanga who supports the Mnangagwa faction. For that they found themselves in the firing line. Mnangagwa has been the front runner for the presidency for the past 10 years until the young turks in Zanu-PF or the G40 group emerged to derail his ambitions.
Insiders in the party say the young turks want to employ dirty tactics to tarnish his image by directly linking him to the Fifth Brigade massacres in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the 80s. The mass slaughter of civilians in the two provinces left an estimated 20 000 dead and thousands more missing after they were abducted by agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) which was controlled by Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa was the state security minister during the massacres and was one of the masterminds of the ethnic cleansing operation code-named Gukurahundi-Shona word for the rains that washes the chaff before the spring rain.
If it came to voting by provinces,the G40 knows the Zanu-PF leaders in Matabeleland will not support Mnangagwa as Mugabe's succesor. Mugabe's wife has been blamed for the current crisis within the former liberation movement. Her divide and rule tactics led to the ouster of vice president Joyce Mujuru from both government and the party.
She also launched verbal attacks against Jabulani Sibanda, a former Zipra officer and one time Nkomo's bodyguard accusing him of working with Mujuru faction to topple the government.
Sibanda was later ousted as chairman of the war veterans with the help of Mutsvanga and others. Insiders said Mutsvangwa and his inner circle hated Sibanda, his Zipra colleagues and the Ndebele people in general. Sibanda was also rumoured to be alligned to Mujuru faction.
Mujuru's supporters in the party and government have been purged and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Grace certainly won that round against Mujuru faction that was crippled by her husband Solomon Mujuru's death.
Mujuru too had lot of support among war veterans thanks to her late husband who was popular with ex Zanla guerrillas. With mujuru elbowed out of the race,the battle lines have been drawn between the Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe factions for the presidency.
The Lacoste faction has allegedly told Grace to stay home and cook for her husband and leave politics to men. Grace supporters hit back accusing Mnangagwa of being a womaniser and a killer. The women are said to be fully behind Mugabe's wife and are determined to help her become the first female head of state in Zimbabwe.
But some accuse her of being divisive. While the Zanu-PF fighting plays out in public, one region has been ignored or forgotten, Matabeleland.
War veterans and politicians in the region see the power struggles in Zanu-PF as a Mashonaland affair or as they say in Ndebele 'impi yomndeni ayingenwa'. You don't interfere in family feuds. They have chosen to sit on the fence and watch the Zanu-PF house burn.
In Zimbabwe,where tribalism is institutionalised,the Ndebele and other tribes in Matabeleland have been counted out of the presidential race. To call for a Ndebele president is like asking America's racist white supremacist hate organisation, the Ku Klux Klan to accept a black president.
The war veterans have featured in almost all the political dramas in Zimbabwe dating back to the early 80s when some of them, still fresh from the war, were drafted into the Fifth Brigade to carry out massacres in Matabeleland and Midlands.
The former fighters have been involved in human rights abuses and were the architects of violent invasions and occupation of white owned farms from the year 2000. During their invasion of farms, they left a trail of destruction and dead bodies of white farmers who resisted the take over of their property.
Some of the farmers were killed without any provocation and no war veteran has ever been brought to trial for the murders and destruction of property on the farms. Had Zimbabwe been a democratic country, most of them would be in jail serving sentences ranging from murder, abductions, robbery, rape and looting of property belonging to farmers. But nothing happened to them because their actions, like those of Gukurahundi were sanctioned from above.
Source - Thabo Kunene
