Mnangagwa now in Mugabe’s situation as war vets refuse to meet him but demand his resignation: “We refuse to be separated from the people!
President Emmerson Mnangagwa
A faction of Zimbabwe’s war veterans is planning to boycott a scheduled meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, citing long-standing grievances and simmering tensions over the president’s potential term extension beyond 2028. The move signals a growing rift between Mnangagwa and a segment of the ex-combatants, who have historically been a vital support base for the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Zanu-PF war veterans secretary, Douglas Mahiya, announced last week that the planned interface was intended to quell rising discontent among ex-combatants who have expressed dissatisfaction with Mnangagwa’s leadership. The meeting, slated to take place in Harare within a fortnight, was meant to address a number of issues affecting the former liberation war fighters.
However, the fallout with a section of the war veterans stems from alleged plans by Mnangagwa loyalists to extend his term from 2028 to 2030, despite the president’s repeated public pronouncements that he has no intention of seeking an extension.
Outspoken war veterans Blessed Geza and Andrease Mathibela have been at the forefront of rallying Zimbabweans to oppose the “2030 agenda.” Mathibela, who chairs a faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veteran Association, has now directed his members to boycott the planned meeting with Mnangagwa.
“Why invite us suddenly after all those years?” Mathibela questioned during a press conference in Harare on Friday. “It’s too little too late. Whose welfare should be addressed? We refuse to be separated from the people.”
Mathibela’s faction views the sudden invitation as disingenuous, particularly in light of Mnangagwa’s special investments advisor, Paul Tungwarara, launching a war veterans welfare fund, which critics have dismissed as an attempt to buy their silence.
“So we said to our members that they should not accept the $200, or whatever,” Mathibela stated. “We will not attend the planned interface. We have reached a point where now it’s no longer about war veterans’ welfare only. It’s about everyone else.”
The decision to boycott the meeting underscores the war veterans’ broader concerns about the direction of the country and their perceived marginalisation. Mathibela claims that previous attempts to engage in dialogue with Mnangagwa have been repeatedly thwarted.
“Right up to when he got elected, we wrote letters seeking dialogue,” he said. “But the president chose to have a king of veterans, who are gatekeepers. We are representing the majority of war veterans. And indeed, we have created a very good relationship with the public.”
Mathibela recounted an incident where he travelled to the State House for a scheduled meeting with the president, only to have it cancelled at the last minute. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production.
“I drove all the way with my own money, came here with only an hour left. I was told the meeting was cancelled indefinitely,” he said. “From then onwards, we were not even invited.”
He further claimed that efforts to meet with Mnangagwa through Joram Gumbo, the special economic advisor, were also unsuccessful. “We went there several times with the letters. So he has shut us out. And he has shut, guess what, why he shut us out? Because he cannot fulfil our expectation.”
Mathibela accused Mnangagwa’s loyalists of attempting to silence the war veterans and prevent them from speaking out against the plans to extend his term of office.
The stance taken by Mathibela’s faction highlights the delicate political landscape in Zimbabwe. War veterans have historically played a crucial role in Zanu-PF’s electoral success, and their support has been instrumental in maintaining the party’s grip on power.
The late president Robert Mugabe’s removal from office in 2017 was preceded by a fallout with ex-combatants, demonstrating the potential consequences of alienating this influential group. Mugabe’s loyalists had sought to keep him in power despite his advanced age, failing health, a collapsing economy, and widespread public discontent. The current situation bears some resemblance to those events, raising questions about the stability of Mnangagwa’s leadership and the future of Zanu-PF.
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