Zanu PF dismisses Mabhena death threats claims

By Guthrie Munyuki    

HARARE – Zanu PF has laughed off claims by Norman Mabhena, the young brother of the late national hero, Welshman, who has relocated his family to a safe house citing “increasing” attempts at his life by members of the revolutionary party.

Welshman Mabhena died in Bulawayo last month after a long struggle with diabetes and high blood pressure. Rugare Gumbo, Zanu PF spokesman, said Norman Mabhena was seeking attention but was irrelevant to their ethos and would not cause them sleepless nights.

“This is downright nonsense. There are many people who have opposed Zanu PF but are still walking on the streets.  Why would we want to eliminate him when we honoured his brother and our comrade, Welshman Mabhena, whom we conferred with a national hero status?

“It’s not about physical elimination of people but elimination of ideas. As far as we are concerned, Norman is not part of us, will never be with us and we will also never be with him as our ideas and his are different,” Gumbo told the Daily News.

Mabhena has said the pressure on his life and family has been increasing and fears that Zanu PF henchmen are out to eliminate him in revenge of the snub the Mabhena family delivered to President Robert Mugabe when it refused to have the late nationalist buried at the national shrine in Harare.

Norman Mabhena and his family were fiercely opposed to have Welshman buried at the Heroes Acre despite the Zanu PF Politburo declaring him a national hero. The snub was seen as a kick in the teeth for Mugabe and Zanu PF who desperately tried to have the family change their decision which eventually stuck as the former ZAPU strongman was buried at Lady Stanley cemetery in Bulawayo. Daily News