FORMER Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association secretary-general Andrew Ndlovu has warned former fighters against being used by politicians in the run-up to harmonised elections later this year.
Report by Silas Nkala
Ndlovu, who is also a former senior Zanu PF official in Bulawayo, said genuine war veterans were no longer interested in violence during elections.
“Most of the war veterans who are being abused are not from the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) side,” he said in an interview at the weekend. “ZPRA cadres will not take part in any election violence, but if ever there is anybody who believes that he would want to be abused by politicians to perpetrate violence, I warn him or her to desist from that.
“I am saying war veterans must not take any part in violence against the people whom they liberated.”
Ndlovu said those who committed political violence since 2000 had nothing to show for their crimes.
“Some of the people behind the violence are known thugs even from their families and we cannot blame all the war veterans because of such people,” he said. “We challenge the war veterans to let the people vote peacefully without fear.
“I am interacting with both the ZPRA and Zanla war veterans and the gospel is that they do not want to be associated with violence, but to pursue issues of their welfare.”
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Ndlovu said most war veterans had realised that politicians were not interested in addressing issues to do with their welfare and no longer wanted to be used.
“Many war veterans are currently concentrating on their welfare since they have been neglected for too long and cannot allow themselves to be used anymore,” he said.
“Most of the ZPRA members who were in Botswana and Zambia and did not fight at the front were not vetted and the fight is now to get them vetted to benefit from the war veterans programmes.”
War veterans and Zanu PF militia groups led a violent invasion of white-owned commercial farms at the turn of the millennium.
Since 2000, the former fighters have led violent campaigns on behalf of Zanu PF during elections, which left scores of people dead and thousands displaced.
