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Harare Bureau—
WAR veterans’ leader Cde Jabulani Sibanda has come under fire from analysts and fellow war veterans for insulting President Mugabe by implying that he wanted to do a “bedroom coup” on his deputy Vice President Joice Mujuru. They said Cde Sibanda’s utterances that were carried by NewsDay yesterday, left no doubt that there was a faction in Zanu-PF that had already elevated VP Mujuru to the post of de facto president and first secretary of the party, since such a ‘’coup’’ he referred to could only be carried out on a sitting President.

The war vets said it was Cde Sibanda and his group who had instead attempted a coup on President Mugabe by “clandestinely anointing VP Mujuru”.
Cde Sibanda was extensively quoted by NewsDay yesterday claiming that war veterans would “block attempts to stage a coup both in the boardroom and in the bedroom” as he called on ‘’able-bodied Zimbabweans’’ to resist the attempts.

He was quoted as saying: “If you want to find me guilty of not attending the First Lady’s rallies, I plead guilty on that one and I won’t attend unless the programme changes. I can’t attend a function where they say ‘Pamberi ne Mazoe Crush, pasi ne Gamatox’. That slogan is unknown in Zanu-PF.

“That slogan is divisive and counter-revolutionary. I don’t belong to a venomous group and until their objectives change, I won’t be part of that. With its nature now, it’s counter-revolutionary and Zimbabweans should stand up against that.

“All able-bodied people should stand up against that. You can’t belong to a group that insults a vice president of the country. You can’t insult a person like that even if you are from different political parties, but you can encounter on policies,” he said.

Cde Sibanda said it was wrong for the First Lady and other Zanu-PF officials to publicly attack the Vice President for “crimes” which could have been committed by her late husband, Retired General Solomon Mujuru.

But war vets and political analysts rapped Cde Sibanda for disrespecting President Mugabe.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Collaborators Association chairperson Cde Pupurai Togarepi said Cde Sibanda’s statements were “misplaced”.

“You can’t say you are referring to a coup when speaking of the President’s bedroom? This is an insult on the President. How can a normal person support people accused of stealing national resources that should benefit everyone,” he said. “Those people must leave office as they’ve been benefiting alone all along.”
University of Zimbabwe political scientist Dr Charity Manyeruke concurred.

“Jabulani’s statement is disgraceful, especially coming from someone who is supposed to be a war veteran who has shown that he has no respect for the President at all,” Dr Manyeruke said.

“These are the same people who do disgraceful things in the name of the President. If you read in between the lines, you will realise that there’re so many activities that have been happening where you see people plotting to remove the President clandestinely.It’s the same people who’re actually trying to do a boardroom coup and it’s clear that there’re so many people involved in this because Jabulani appears to be talking on behalf of some people and this can’t go unchallenged.”

Dr Manyeruke added: “He doesn’t have the basic principles of war vets because they should respect the President. We know there’re some war veterans who are anti-Zanu-PF leadership, in this case the most important person who is leading the party is the President of Zimbabwe and First Secretary of Zanu-PF Cde Mugabe.”

Midlands State University Dean of International Relations Christopher Gwatidzo said it was not proper for war veterans to undermine the authority of the President.

“I want to believe those talking about the coup issue, in this case chairperson of war veterans, are disciplined members of the liberation army which liberated Zimbabwe through Zipra and Zanla,” he said.

“I want to believe those disciplined know what a coup is because there is only one authority headed by President Mugabe and Zimbabwe has not experienced two Commander-in-Chiefs of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

“To suggest anything to the contrary, I can’t understand where it’s coming from, why it is being said and if he indeed said that, then I hope the organisation, the war veterans themselves will tell us what is happening.”

Masvingo War veterans provincial chairperson Cde Francis Nando said they were fully behind statements by the First Lady Cde Grace Mugabe who accused VP Mujuru of corruption and promoting factionalism, among other charges.

Cde Nando said the people in Masvingo suffered a lot because of VP Mujuru’s actions, especially when she protected Western owned companies such as Tongaat Hullet from indigenisation.

He said war vets leader Cde Jabulani Sibanda was wrong in attacking First Lady Amai Grace over her public condemnation of VP Mujuru.
“If it’s true that Cde Sibanda said what is reported in the private media today then he is wrong,” he said.

“As war vets in Masvingo, we are fully behind Amai Mugabe. I also don’t think Cde Sibanda said that and if he did then he was wrong and we will speak to him.”

War veteran and Buhera South legislator Cde Joseph Chinotimba said Cde Sibanda was concentrating on “silly things” instead of working towards the improvement of the welfare of war veterans.

“He should be quiet if he does not have anything to say,” he said. “He might think that his comments are targeted at one person, but he is actually insulting the President.

“I do not insult my leadership including VP Mujuru. Comrades are suffering out there without land, school fees for their children and medical aid because Cde Jabu is not working for them. The Bible says love your mother and father and Cde Jabu should not say he loves President Mugabe while hating his wife at the same time.”

Another war veteran who declined to be named for fear of victimisation said Cde Sibanda was a “compromised figure pursuing a compromised agenda.”
He said Cde Sibanda’s true character as a regime change agent was now coming out in the open.

“He is a fake war veteran who was too young to have fought in the war,” the war veteran said. “He has been planted among the regime change team within Zanu-PF under the mantle of firebrand anti-western cum revolutionary rhetoric, but the rapidly eluding fortunes of this anti-Mugabe, anti-Zanu-PF clique are forcing him to show his true colours.”

The war veteran said Cde Sibanda was prone to “primeval” outbursts tainted with gender bigotry as he hurled insults on true leaders and genuine war veterans.
“The vetting register administered by the Ministry of Defence is exposing the shameful credentials of those that he anointed as leaders of his association,” he said.

“He is fiction-minded about the wartime exploits as one who still avoids answering about downing a Rhodesian Air-Force chopper. With the vetting register as an electoral college, new elections are long overdue so this impostor is jettisoned to the fate of Temba Mliswa, another loud mouthed braggart of similar destiny.”