War vets want Mugabe to go

By Farayi Machamire

In an unprecedented move that is set to shake Zanu PF down to its foundation, disgruntled war veterans who have been pivotal in keeping President Robert Mugabe in power for the past 36 years say they have had enough of him, and that it is time he left office.

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, the disaffected ex-combatants — many of whom are signatories to the famous 1976 Mgagao declaration that catapulted Mugabe to the helm of Zanu — said they were withdrawing their support both to that  epoch-making document, as well as to Mugabe.

Liberation struggle luminary, Bernard Manyadza, whose war-time nom de guerre was Parker Chipoyera, said war veterans — the majority of whom are wallowing in abject poverty — had had enough of Mugabe’s “misrule”.

The tough-talking Munyadza, who was the head of instructors at the famous Mgagao Camp, said the time had come for war veterans and fellow Zimbabweans to “rewrite history”.

In addition to vowing to do everything in their power to make Mugabe leave office, the disgruntled war vets also ominously threw their weight behind former Vice President Joice Mujuru, who is now leader of new political outfit, Zimbabwe People First (ZPF).

“At this juncture, it is particularly important for the people of Zimbabwe to know how Robert Mugabe first attained the reins of power as president of Zanu.

“It is us the war veterans who put Mugabe into power. In 1976 officers at Mgagao Training Camp in Tanzania, after consulting with others in Zambia and Mozambique, wrote a document denouncing the then president (of the party) Ndabaningi Sithole.

“The document, known as the Mgagao document, accused Sithole of abandoning the struggle to pursue his personal issues.

“After considering many factors, the war veterans agreed to endorse Robert Mugabe to succeed Sithole. In light of this, it is abundantly clear that Robert Mugabe was not elected, but selected to lead Zimbabwe’s armed struggle,” Manyadza said.

“We the war veterans who agreed to the authorship of the Mgagao document and appended our signatures to it now withdraw the mandate we gave to Robert Mugabe to be leader,” he added.

Manyadza said “real war veterans” remained marginalised while “opportunists” who currently occupied senior positions in government were “cowards” during the war of liberation.

Describing Mugabe’s meeting last week with a faction of war veterans as a non-event, Manyadza — who was flanked by other “real” ex-combatants — said the Harare get-together had been “a missed opportunity” to put the 92-year-old leader under pressure.

“The illegitimate attendees are Zanu PF sycophants and bootlickers who can best be described as charlatans and opportunists.

“It was clear to everyone that most attendees were past the age of liberation fighters, but some old villagers who were paid to attend and ululate and sing praises to Mugabe,” he thundered.

The disgruntled war veterans also alleged that last week’s meeting had allegedly been tainted by corruption, with money supposedly changing hands in an effort to bribe attendees’ allegiance.

“Mugabe is a habitual rigger who has rigged his own indaba,” Manyadza said, adding that the late struggle icon, Herbert Chitepo — whose wife Victoria will be interred at the national heroes acre today — will be turning in his grave at the sight of how the party that he led effectively had now turned rogue.

“Chitepo insisted that there never was and never will be a living hero. He refused anyone to say ‘pamberi naChitepo or nani zvake (forward with Chitepo or any other person)’. He remained firm on this principle as he knew that all humans were fallible.

“Chairman Chitepo argued that if you say ‘pamberi neni, ko mangwana ndikatadza wozoti kudiyi (Chitepo discouraged hero-worshipping of individuals,” Manyadza said.

He also said that it was unfortunate that everyone who had challenged Mugabe within Zanu PF thus far had been purged from the former liberation movement.

“Comrades, even our service chiefs who have demonstrated absolute loyalty to the nation and their commander-in-chief have had their loyalty and allegiance questioned, firstly by the First Lady, and later by their commander-in-chief. This has set a very bad precedence.

“Again comrades, the manner in which . . . Mujuru was removed from holding government and party positions at the instigation of Mugabe’s wife who had no political position at the time cannot be accepted or tolerated.

“Mugabe as the sole centre of power unilaterally makes ruinous decisions that have sadly brought life in the once prosperous nation to a standstill,” Manyadza added.

While the country’s opposition has routinely called for Mugabe to either resign or retire, there are now also growing calls for him to step down from within Zanu PF ranks.

Only last week, respected party elder Cephas Msipa said keeping Mugabe in power was tantamount to “punishing” the increasingly frail nonagenarian, further urging the long-ruling leader to retire immediately.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News, he said Mugabe’s 56 years in politics were long enough for a “normal human being to hang the boots”.

“My serious advice to him (Mugabe) is that he should rest now, as he has done so much for the country,” he said.

Msipa, a close friend of Mugabe of many decades, said the nonagenarian — who is the only leader that Zimbabweans have had for the past 36 years — cannot rest after death.

“In a way, he has done a lot for this country, and really in all fairness we are punishing him. When will he rest, when he is dead?” he asked rhetorically.

“I feel sorry for him as a friend. I think he must just be given time to rest. We live in this world for a much shorter period than we realise. He really needs a rest. A race is run up to a certain point and there comes a point when you must rest.

“It’s good for him, good for his family and good for the party. We need new ideas. These can only come with leadership renewal. I would like him to rest,” the concerned Msipa emphasised repeatedly.

The former Midlands Provincial Affairs minister — who fondly refers to Mugabe as muzukuru (Shona for nephew) — said there was no doubt that Mugabe had played his part, which was why he now needed to pass on the baton.

He challenged some Zanu PF hardliners who were advocating for the nonagenarian’s further stay in power to be “human and stop punishing” him.

“We should all feel sorry for him. We are punishing him. Those who are saying he should continue, we don’t seem to care about him. I know some people want him to stay for their own protection.

“I also know some of them feel he is protecting them. He gave them certain positions and so they are afraid that if he goes they will lose those positions. It’s unfair for us to punish a man for all this time. Let him sit back and watch. It’s very important after all that hard work,” Msipa said.

He also claimed that just before he left active politics he had asked Mugabe to retire, an offer that was turned down.

“I went to see Mugabe with my two sons where I told him to retire. He told me that in politics you don’t retire, but that you rather die there. That’s his philosophy.

“So in a way he seems to be enjoying the position, but he must also think of rest, because he is punishing himself physically. We are all human beings and the fire in us burns out and you can’t go on trying to keep putting on some light when it’s burning out,” he said.

Asked what kind of a person Mugabe was at a personal level, Msipa described the nonagenarian as a “difficult” character to understand.

“He is in a way difficult to understand. He can be very charming but also he can be repellent and very cruel. He can be very charming and the next moment he can do things that you cannot believe he can do.

“For instance, when Murambatsvina (operation clean-up) started, I phoned him because I thought that was uncharacteristic of him, but when he has decided that this man is my enemy, he will do everything to crush you.

“That is his problem, there are no two ways about it. So in short, he can be very cruel if you stand in his way because he wants things to be done in his way,” he said. Daily News