By : Lloyd Mahachi
A group of Zimbabwean liberation war veterans has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to leave his office. The veterans, joined forces with the ruling Zanu-PF Party, accuse the president of failing to do his duties.
In a press conference streamed online, Blessed Runesu Geza, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s 1960s and 70s liberation war and a member of Zanu-PF’s central committee, called for the president to step down from his office.
Geza accused Mnangagwa of failing to live up to the promises he made in 2017 when he came to power.
He added, freedom fighters who died fighting for the country’s liberation do not have decent graves and that the country is being turned into “a banana republic.” He also spoke of corruption and the struggles of people within the country.
“We are saying as war veterans enough is enough. You have shown that you have failed. It can’t get any worse,” he said in Shona at the press conference.
“Corruption has become a threat because these people are being protected by Emmerson. As war veterans, including masses, we are being asked, ‘Why did you give us this kind of a person? We no longer want him.’ So, we are pleading with you: Leave peacefully. If you don’t, people will use the legal way for you to go.”
In an interview, Zanu-PF spokesman Farai Marapira dismissed the calls for Mnangagwa to step down.
“The party position is crystal clear; the party’s position is given to the right channels. So, we cannot dignify rogue rantings by responding to them,” Marapira said. “People who speak their mind outside of the party, that’s part of democracy and freedom of expression. But the position is clear: We had a conference, and that is what we will deal with, and that is what we follow, and anything else is just ranting.”
At a recent Zanu-PF conference, party leaders passed a resolution that Mnangagwa should seek a third term in 2028, assuming the party can force amendments to the constitution.
In an interview with VOA, Eldred Masunungure, a political professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said the war veterans are feeling frustration, as things have not worked out the way they expected after Mnangagwa came to power in November 2017.
“The political clouds are difficult to read under the circumstances, but what is clear is they expressed in unambiguous terms their exasperation with the way things have been going on in the last couple of years in the second republic,” Masunungure said. “That is certain. But the outcome of how they are handling things, what they are advocating for, that is in my view is deeply uncertain.”
Brighton Chipamhadze, a Harare-based independent political commentator, said Geza’s announcement shows the divisions within the ruling party.
“As Comrade Geza points out, there are certain individuals benefiting from Mnangagwa’s rule, calling for an extension of Mnangagwa’s term,” Chipamhadze said. “Yet there is also a part of the ruling party which is against Mnangagwa’s term extension.”
Zimbabwe’s constitution, which came in place in 2013, allows parliament to impeach and remove the president if lawmakers feel he is incapacitated.
Editor : Josephine Mahachi