A ZIPRA war veteran has rallied for the return of the former Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) leader Jabulani Sibanda to the helm describing him as the only person who can unite the former liberation war fighters.
ZNLWVA has of late been rocked by divisions with two major factions, one led by Zanu PF national spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa and the other led by Andrea Ethan Matibela.
In an interview with NewsDay, outspoken war veteran Max Mkandla called on war veterans across Zimbabwe to vote for Sibanda to return as a ZNLWVA national chairperson, the position he held during the late former President Robert Mugabe's era.
Sibanda is the Zanu PF chairperson for Bulawayo province.
“As war veterans, we now have many groups and camps and the question is who is dividing us? During our late former chairman Chenjerai Hunzi, the war veterans were united and spoke with one voice, that is why we achieved a lot,” Mkandla said.
“Now we have factions such as that of Christopher Mutsvangwa, that of Ethan Andrea Matibela and that of Moffat Marashwa. For war veterans to be united, there is no one other than Jabulani Sibanda who can do that. We need a clear leader who will unite war veterans and Sibanda is the most suitable,” Mkandla said.
Keep Reading
- Letter from America: Education: Zimbabwe still ahead of the pack
- Mnangagwa marches expose Zanu PF fights
- NoViolet Bulawayo’s new novel is an instant Zimbabwean classic
- COP27: Zimbabwe’s opportunity to shine
He said as the war veterans go for an congress this year, they must know that the only capable person to lead them was Sibanda who used to visit war veterans' grassroots structures to strengthen the organisation during his tenure.
“It's high time war vets leaders came down to provinces to meet grassroots structures and the only person who was able to do that was Sibanda,” he said.
“We, however, hail President Emmerson Mnangagwa for giving war vets two companies. It is the good leadership that can lead these firms to success, but not the looters that we know. We trust that Sibanda is capable.”
Some ZNLWVA leaders hailed Mnangagwa’s decision to sack Mutsvangwa as Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs minister, describing him as a non-performer.
Mnangagwa dismissed Mutsvangwa without giving reasons.
The government was recently forced to admit that ZNLWVA had splintered into several factions as divisions among the former fighters widened due to the performance of Mnangagwa’s government since he took over from long-time ruler the late Robert Mugabe in a coup seven years ago.