MDC praises war veterans for “finally seeing the light”

Zimbabwe’s main opposition on Friday praised the country’s war veterans for “finally seeing the light” after President Robert Mugabe’s staunchest allies denounced him as “dictatorial”.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) “would like to whole-heartedly thank and salute (the) war veterans for publicly acknowledging that Robert Mugabe has outlived his relevance and should immediately proceed to resign,” it said in a statement.

In a sign of growing opposition to Mugabe, the war veterans who have in the past supported the nonagenarian leader, on Thursday issued a strongly-worded statement denouncing Mugabe and his regime for brutal attacks on his opponents and for presiding over a failing economy.

The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association said they had noted “with concern, shock and utter dismay the entrenchment of dictatorial tendencies, personified by the President and his cohorts which have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle in utter disregard of the constitution”.

The war veterans vowed not to support Mugabe if he seeks re-election.

A rare surge of public demonstration has forced many onto the streets of the southern African country in recent weeks, triggered by an economic crisis that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers.

The MDC called on the 92-year-old leader “to take heed of the very clear advice that he has been freely given by his erstwhile comrades, the war veterans”.

“Mugabe remains the single biggest threat to Zimbabwe’s national stability as well as economic prosperity,” said the MDC.

Opposition to Mugabe’s rule has grown in recent months as the country’s economic troubles mount while his ZANU-PF party is in turmoil over his succession.

– Reason to be afraid –

The country has been hit by protests including a stay-away strike called by an evangelical pastor Evan Mawarire which shut offices and shops and crippled the public transport system.

Head of the Harare-based think-tank Southern African Political and Economic Series (SAPES) Ibbo Mandaza said Mugabe would be weaker without his once-dependable veterans who at times had resorted to violence to keep him in power.

“Mugabe and his cohorts have a reason to be afraid,” Mandaza said.

The ageing leader’s ZANU-PF party is divided over who will follow him, split between his wife Grace and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is widely seen as his successor.

Mandaza said the veterans, who fought in the 1972-1979 war of independence “have made it clear that their anointed successor is Mnangagwa”.

Independent political analyst Ernest Mudzengi, said the war veterans’ rebellion was driven by the succesion struggle.

“They want to be influential in deciding who succeeds Mugabe, whom they think they made,” said Mudzengi.

Starting in 2000, the war veterans led the seizures of white-owned commercial farms in what Mugabe said was a reversal of imbalances from the colonial era.

The land seizures have been blamed for the drastic slump in food production that contributed to the country’s economic collapse.

A drought that has ravaged southern Africa has added to Zimbabwe’s woes.

Charity Save the Children warned this week that thousands of children could “be facing starvation by Christmas” unless the country gets more help. AFP