The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), could be headed for a split as former ZANLA-aligned combatants plan to boycott a meeting called by the national chairperson.
This is after sections of the war veterans have distanced themselves from a meeting called by the chairperson, Andreas Ethan Mathibela scheduled for this Saturday in Bulawayo, claiming the Joint Operations Command (JOC), Zimbabwe’s supreme organ for the coordination of state security instructed them not to attend.
The meeting which will be held at Stanley Square in Makokoba is set to discuss the welfare challenges faced by war veterans.
However, some war veterans believed to be ZANLA and loyal to former chairperson and ex-Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs, Christopher Mutsvangwa are attempting to deter other comrades from attending the meeting organised by Mathibela’s executive.
They have been sharing messages on social media, discouraging people from going.
Volta Ekem Moyo, chairperson of the ZPRA properties committee that Tshinga Dube appointed also wrote a letter distancing himself from the meeting.
Nevertheless, some ZPRA cadres said they must counter such negative messages and attend Saturday’s meeting to support Mathibela and come up with practical ways regarding their welfare.
“We should attend this meeting in our numbers as comrades and support one of our affiliates, a ZPRA cadre, to buttress his position at the national level. ZANLA has failed us, I mean Mutsvangwa and now it’s the turn of ZPRA to take over the leadership,” said one of the sources aligned to ZPRA.
When contacted for comment, the ZNLWVA chairperson said he was aware of statements made by some war vets deterring others from attending and warned that if they attempted to disrupt the meeting, police in Bulawayo will deal with them.
“I am with the police now as we speak to fix this. If they try anything, I will deal with them legally and go to the lawyers,” Mathibela said.
In an interview with CITE, ZPRA Veterans Association Secretary General, Petros Sibanda noted the previous ZNLWVA led by Mutswangwa was partisan and did not attend to the welfare concerns of veterans and was against Mathibela.
He also said the ZPRA properties committee chairperson – “Moyo is afraid of losing the limelight” if he is seen to be supporting initiatives that discuss the welfare of the war veterans as he believes he is in control of that part by spearheading the “so-called” return of their properties.”
Sibanda added that Mathibela’s executive was putting politics aside while “people who are opposing Mathibela are Zanu affiliated war vet members, particularly the war veterans league.”
The secretary-general said since the ZPRA Veterans Association was officially invited to the meeting, they would honour the invite, unlike the ZANLA-affiliated members.
“We tried long back before independence, even after, to work together, but it always fails,” Sibanda said.
He also stated that ZNWLVA was “already split” in response to inquiries about the possibility of the association splitting now that a former ZPRA cadre was in charge.
Sources also added that tension has been brewing in the association after Mathibela said ZNLWVA was relieved that Mutsvangwa was fired as Minister of Veterans by President Emmerson Mnangagwa from his minister position describing him as a non-performer, a divisive leader, and someone who consistently snubbed their requests for meetings regarding their welfare at a press conference in Bulawayo this year in February.
Mathibela further emphasised that ZNLWVA, long perceived as a pawn of Zanu PF, is not a bootlicker of the ruling party but operates independently and is non-partisan.
“We are not bootlickers, we are independent war veterans who participated in the armed struggle specifically for two reasons: political freedom and economic freedom for all. The majority of war veterans are nonpartisan and prefer not to be partisan members, except for a few individuals who choose to do so,” he claimed.
Mathibela claimed that ZNLWVA is a private voluntary organisation that caters to the welfare of war veterans.
