The Sunday News
Dumisani Sibanda, Sunday News Correspondent
“All is well that ends well,” it is often said and this is the apt description of the manner in which the “crunch” meeting in Harare between the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Patron, President Mugabe and the former ex-fighters was concluded.
Concluding the meeting, held recently, the Zanu-PF leader, Cde Mugabe showed that the revolutionary party and the war veterans association are one. Said Cde Mugabe:
“There’s a joy that runs through your mind and goes but there’s a joy that gets into your mind and gets into your heart and settles there. It’s the joy that we have met and had these discussions.”
Juxtapose these warm words with previews of the meeting that were carried in some sections of the media.
According to those media outlets, the meeting was supposed to be either President Mugabe’s Waterloo or that of the war veterans. Expectations by these prophets of doom were that there would be “blood on the floor” and headlines screaming of a “battle” were cast as some sections of the media predicted war if not a titanic battle at the meeting.
This followed the incident in which the former freedom fighters were tear-gassed and sprayed with water to disperse them in Harare where they had gathered resulting in President Mugabe — who is also the leader of the ruling party, Zanu-PF — apologising to the former freedom fighters.
The chairperson of the ZNLWA, Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa, who was the Minister Responsible for War Veterans, was dropped from the Cabinet following the incident and replaced by another war veteran, Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube.
Cde Mutsvangwa was accused of not notifying the Ministers responsible for security of the meeting. Naturally, the incident had aroused emotions of bitterness.
However, like what happened in 1997, when the war veterans had intense demonstrations demanding their gratuities, the former freedom fighters met at the City Sports Centre in Harare, with their patron — who in fact is one of them — to discuss their welfare and iron out issues that were causing discord in the political formation.
The meeting was attended by a massive 10 000 former freedom fighters and one of the key figures who was part of the conference was none other than, the “no nonsense” Auntie Jane Ngwenya regarded as one of the mothers of the liberation struggle.
Zanu-PF’s detractors had already composed dirges to celebrate the divorce of Zanu-PF and President Mugabe on one side and the war veterans on the other.
Sunday News coolly observed in its preview, that like any family, there are problems in Zanu-PF but like any other these are solved through dialogue as happened with the Indaba.
In fact, so fruitful were the discussions that President Mugabe said this should be an annual event so that Zanu-PF, an amalgam of the two liberation movements, PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF, connects with the war veterans association also made up from the two liberation armies, Zipra from Zapu and Zanla from the Zanu side.
In the Sunday News preview of the meeting Zanu-PF detractors were counselled to “hold their horses” and we were spot-on on that as things went well during the meeting.
But it was a frank and candid meeting as the war veterans pointed some of the issues affecting their welfare such as that they were not benefitting from the 20 percent quota on resettlement land under the land reform programme, the need for capitalising the War Veterans Fund so the former freedom fighters can take advantage of investment opportunities.
President Mugabe said “the condition of war veterans should be a priority”. It was acknowledged during the meeting that “war veterans are the bed-rock of the party (Zanu-PF)” dispelling the impression that they were a loose canon going in its own direction.
President Mugabe also highlighted the critical role, war veterans played in 2008, when he lost the first round of Presidential elections as the bhora musango internal Zanu-PF shenanigans took their toll but recovered during the run-off with the former freedom fighters playing a key role in that rescue mission.
He further emphasised the need to go back to the communist inspired ideology championed by Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung of the “fish and water” which was used by the liberation parties and armies in the fight for the independence of this country.
The masses being the “water” and the freedom fighters being the “fish”. President Mugabe emphasised that the party and the war veterans should be “one with the people”.
His speech was coloured throughout by a message of “unity” emphasising the 1987 Unity Accord which saw the coming together of PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF to bring to an end the post-Independence disturbances in the Matabeleland region and some parts of the Midlands Province.
He also spoke about the need for the return to “discipline” which led to the overthrow of colonialism. But on their part the war veterans also pointed out that there was a need to ensure the Political Commissariat of the ruling party mobilises the people into Zanu-PF instead of continuing with a trend of suspending members and that these suspensions if and when necessary should be done in accordance with the right procedures. If there are members of the National Disciplinary Committee of Zanu-PF, who are connected to some of the cases they would be handling they should recuse themselves from discussing the matter in terms of the laws of natural justice.
President Mugabe later told members of the Central Committee, that factionalism would not be tolerated as he moved in to stamp out the practice which was threatening to tear the revolutionary party.
Said Cde Mugabe: “Factions that accuse each other and have found a right boxing ground which is that of opposition papers. That’s where the fighting takes place. This is said against someone and that someone also, sometimes in defence but sometimes in his own offensive way, makes a critical statement damaging the other side”.
So, like a true and responsible father, Cde Mugabe has stepped in to stop the infighting that was now taking place in Zanu-PF.
