War vets demand arrest of 3 ministers

By Mugove Tafirenyika

The Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) has called for the arrest of three Cabinet ministers for allegedly undermining President Robert Mugabe’s authority.

ZNLWVA spokesperson Douglas Mahiya told a news conference yesterday that Higher Education, Local Government as well as Youth ministers Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere and Patrick Zhuwao respectively should be incarcerated for suggesting that Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi is the ideal candidate to succeed Mugabe.

Mahiya argued that the trio had committed the same crime he committed together with ZNLWVA secretary general Victor Matemadanda when they declared in a communiqué that Mugabe must hand the reins to his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“Now that Jonathan Moyo, Zhuwao and Kasukuwere have declared their preferred candidate loudly and clearly and that candidate is not the president as called for by the party constitution, what happened to us must happen to them including incarceration and state prosecution and dockets must be opened for undermining the authority of the state president unlike the alleged communiqué which referred to the president,” Mahiya said.

“Zhuwao and Kasukuwere should also be found guilty by the politburo for being accomplices to Jonathan Moyo as happened to our chairman Christopher Mutsvangwa when he associated with the generality of war veterans wallowing in poverty.”

While Mahiya and Matemadanda were charged last year for their damning communiqué, Mutsvangwa lost his position in the Zanu PF politburo as well as his cabinet post after he was expelled for backing Mnangagwa’s presidential bid.

Mahiya said they would interpret failure by Mugabe to take action on Moyo and his colleague as favouring the G40 in the battle to succeed him.

“At Sapes, G40 Jonathan Moyo and his cohorts openly and loudly proclaimed their preference as successor to the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

“The rank and file of the party and the whole nation is watching the ruling revolutionary Zanu PF on what course of action it shall take against these expressed successionists, otherwise there are two scales of justice, it would appear, and that the G40 can continue to get away with murder in Main Street,” Mahiya, who was accompanied by Matemadanda, said.

The ex-combatants said they will soon launch an official complaint to the Zanu PF leadership.

“It was not easy to build a revolutionary tradition of Zanla and Zipra armies and the surrounding attribute was fair treatment of all comrades who had voluntarily joined the national liberation movement, so at this juncture, it is timely to remind the president and the revolutionary icon of the principles of justice and fair treatment of all comrades regardless of tribe, gender, religion, colour, creed and otherwise,” he said. Daily News