The new Zanu-PF leadership has thrown down the gauntlet to the Zimbabwean War Veterans’ Association and warned them not to ”behave like renegades or anarchists”.
The assertion that they will brook no challenge to their authority comes two days after the war veterans pledged to stand by their suspended leader, Jabulani Sibanda, in open defiance of President Robert Mugabe’s appeal for unity at the Zanu-PF congress last week.
Sibanda and six provincial chairpersons were suspended after attending a meeting in the Tsholotsho district in the Matabeleland province to drum up support for Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa’s failed bid for one of the Zanu-PF vice-presidential berths.
Zanu-PF deputy secretary for the commissariat Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the Mail and Guardian: ”War veterans are products of the military wing of the party in power. Genuine war veterans would respect the directives of their party leadership.”
In equally combative mood, Sibanda hit back: ”There are people within the top echelons of the party who would want to use the war veterans as their tools. They want to give orders on how we should think, what we should do and what we should say and we are saying its wrong.”
A war of words has also erupted over the legal status of party structures. Two weeks ago Mugabe told party leaders in Bulawayo that he would revamp the War Veterans’ Association, whom he accused of ”running a parallel agenda”. But Sibanda is emphatic: ”We are a separate entity.”
This is not the first time the war veterans have publicly taken on Mugabe, who is the association’s patron.
In a show of bravado in August 1997 war veterans booed Mugabe during the Heroes Day commemoration at the national shrine. They demanded gratuities and compensation for their participation in the liberation war. War veterans’ leader at the time, Chenjerai Hunzvi, led members in a charge on Mugabe’s state house residence, forcing him to back down and release over Zimbabwean $2 billion to their cause. The unbudgeted expenditure precipitated a decline in the Zimbabwean currency.
Analysts predict that the discontent in the party will escalate in the run-up to the Primaries — where Zanu-PF will elect their candidates for next year’s elections — that are expected to be held soon.
Party insiders who commented on condition of anonymity told the Mail & Guardian that delegates whose chairpersons were suspended were not happy with the way the nomination process for the Zanu-PF top leadership was conducted.
”Provinces were bullied into voting for [Joyce] Mujuru; it was guided democracy.”
University of Zimbabwe academic Brian Raftopolous said: ”It’s a difficult period for the party; it was shaken by the succession issue. Mugabe might have to inject politicians from the disgruntled provinces, particularly Midlands and Masvingo, into his Cabinet as a policy of appeasement.”
One Cabinet member who could make way in such a strategy is Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo, who has been fingered as the chief mover behind the Tsholotsho gathering that cost the provincial leaders their jobs.
Moyo’s political future was this week still in the balance. Last week Mugabe lashed out at his former spin doctor, describing his constituency as representing ”bad” and ”evil”.
He has been removed from the party’s Central Committee and is no longer eligible to stand on the party ticket in his Tsholotsho constituency.
But party insiders are still wary of Moyo: ”He still has the potential to plot against our president.”
They point out that even though he has taken a knock from the fallout around the succession battle he has not shown any remorse for hosting the controversial meeting.
”All the chairpersons, including [Justice Minister] Chinamasa, apologised, but Moyo still wants to sound intelligent and deny any wrongdoing.
”He leaked confidential Politburo [the party’s administrative organ] minutes to the Sunday News editor in a bid to exonerate himself.”
Sources said Mugabe dispatched his press secretary, George Charamba, to reprimand the editor.
Moyo’s fate will be discussed by the Zanu-PF Politburo next week.