War vets bay for G40 blood

By Mugove Tafirenyika

HARARE – In a stunning development that invalidates claims by some post-congress Zanu PF bigwigs that there are no deadly factional and succession wars in the ruling party, war veterans say the party’s ambitious Young Turks, the Generation 40 (G40), are behind the anarchy bedevilling the ruling party.

An angry Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general, Victor Matemadanda, also asserted to the Daily News that the G40 were “definitely” fighting to destroy embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, by setting him up against President Robert Mugabe’s controversial wife Grace.

He also refuted strenuously charges that Mnangagwa’s supporters had finally hit the campaign trail for the eagerly-anticipated 2018 national elections, and that they were distributing hundreds of thousands of T-shirts, wrist bands and bandanas bearing the VP’s images across the country — claiming that this election paraphernalia was in fact the work of “the scheming G40”.

Matemadanda also backed utterances by a youth group calling itself the Zimbabwe Youth Action Platform (ZYAP), which recently savaged ministers Patrick Zhuwao, Saviour Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo, as well as businessman Philip Chiyangwa — all of them alleged kingpins of the G40.

“I don’t know why they are attacking Mnangagwa, quiet as he is. He has not talked to anyone, yet they attack him day in and day out, with some even producing party regalia, publishing pamphlets and alleging that these are Mnangagwa’s,” he said.

The clearly-pained Matemadanda also admitted that the battle to succeed Mugabe had now reached “fever-pitch”, with many people in the ruling party dreaming about taking over from the increasingly frail nonagenarian.

“They want to set him (Mnangagwa) up against the First Lady, but he has not said anything about her and she has also not said a word against the VP.

“People are dreaming too high and think that they can just come from nowhere and be president. It does not happen like that. You have to wait for those that are there and support them,” he added.

He defended ZYAP’s scathing attack on Kasukuwere, Moyo and Zhuwao, saying the youths were the vanguard of the ruling party, with “an obligation” to ensure that the party’s ways were not eroded.

Asked to comment on Zhuwao’s equally strong retort that lily-livered and fake war veterans were hiding behind the youths, Matemadanda said that sentiment was “not only unpalatable but also misguided as war veterans have the capacity to fight their own wars and there is no force that can threaten us as to resort to hiring youths”.

He said even during the liberation war, the youths, especially those from universities had been a vital cog in the struggle, giving the party and its leaders direction.

“Now for anyone, especially someone like Zhuwao, who was a youth only five years ago to accuse the young ones when they raise issues that they think are not going well in the party, of having been sent by alleged fake war veterans is unfortunate.

“Whilst I have nothing against him, what he is essentially saying is that they (youths) can only act when they have been influenced by war veterans, yet we know they are the ones who have the eyes to see and are seeing.

“You cannot be messing up and think that the youths will remain silent. Let us listen to them and what their concerns are. We do not use the young people because they are not sleeping. They are seeing what is happening,” Matemadanda said.

He said instead of dismissing the youths, the Zanu PF leadership should self-introspect and listen to their concerns.

“Do not hide behind so-called fake war veterans because we know some of the people are just thieves in the party and have posted videos on social media in which they claim that they were the party commissars, and one wonders who appointed them,” he said.

But an unfazed Zhuwao told the Daily News yesterday that he had no respect for charlatans masquerading as war veterans.

“As minister of Youth Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, I have no respect for mbwende nezvimbwasungata (cowards and sell-outs) that abuse young people to propagate such reactionary agendas as attacking government’s policy on indigenisation and empowerment.

“I am certain that all ideologically-grounded Zanu PF cadres fully subscribe to our programmes. It is only charlatans, puppets and stooges that seek to advocate for the interests of foreigners at the expense of their compatriots and fellow Zimbabweans.

“On a personal note, I warn any idiot that wishes to bar me from getting to my mother’s grave that they better be ready to kill me in any such nonsensical endeavour. Mweya wetsvina nehuroyi inoda kupinda pakati pangu namai vangu (Evil spirits want to separate my mother from me),” Zhuwao thundered after ZYAP threatened to stop the G40 from ever going to Heroes Acre.

Asked to respond specifically to Matemadanda, Zhuwao said “if he had issues with me he would engage me directly in the same manner that I would engage him”.

The Daily News reported yesterday that tired of being on the receiving end of repeated blows from their post-congress Zanu PF enemies, as the ruling party’s factional and succession wars continue to escalate, Mnangagwa’s supporters were now finally hitting the campaign trail openly and earnestly.

This was after Mnangagwa’s supporters were said to have started distributing hundreds of thousands of T-shirts, wrist bands and bandanas bearing the VP’s images across the country — which effectively meant that the battle lines were now truly drawn between Grace’s and the VP’s supporters.

Sources close to the Mnangagwa camp told the Daily News that the VP’s supporters were working to “spruce up his image” ahead of the 2018 national elections, with the Midlands godfather now affectionately referred to as “the leader of Team Lacoste” by his allies.

“Team Lacoste is now taking the ever-scheming G40 (the group of ambitious Zanu PF Young Turks opposed to Mnangagwa who are known as Generation 40) head-on. It is now game on,” one of the sources said.

Another insider told the Daily News that the next few weeks were crucial and would determine “who has the power and requisite gravitas between Lacoste and Dr Amai”.

And as the Mnangagwa faction is ramping up its campaigns, Grace has also lined up several activities this week — including participating at a prayer session organised by popular preacher Walter Magaya and mounting the latest of her divisive rallies in Masvingo at the weekend. Daily News