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Rtd Colonel Tshinga Dube

Stephen Mpofu
Zimbabwe’s imperialist enemies who may have been pulling out their hair in desperation at the failure by their illegal economic sanctions to exact regime change, will no doubt have been pleasantly surprised at stumbling on unlikely allies in unruly war veterans and other party cadres in this country.

These are the comrades who are supposed to be guardians of the revolution but have unwittingly, or deliberately turned themselves into Trojan horses, smuggling in the enemy and in that way threatening to weaken or even destroy the ruling party and the government.

For lack of stronger terminology, the mvenge-mvenge in votes of no confidence that have lately become disconcerting happenings in the structures of Zanu-PF across the nation, are the kinds of things that fling the door wide open for enemies of national unity, independence, freedom and sovereignty to come marching in with their own agenda to slam our country back under the yoke of colonial oppression so that they can exploit the natural riches of the country without let or hindrance.

Cde Ignatius Chombo, secretary for administration of the country’s revolutionary party, no doubt spoke for millions of other concerned patriots when just days ago he decried no confidence votes that appear to have gone diarrheal of late.

In an address to a meeting of the Mashonaland West provincial coordinating committee Cde Chombo said Zanu-PF should reject votes of no confidence motions that are not preceded by thorough investigations and irrefutable evidence of the alleged offences against those accused.

With no documented and verified crimes to support votes of no confidence, what will stop unscrupulous leaders or other party members cooking up falsehoods to settle personal scores with those that they dislike or fear?

In this pen’s humble opinion, such possibilities should not be ruled out and there is therefore a very, very strong case, as Cde Chombo pointed out, for the revolutionary party to “improve the management of our issues so that we don’t have expulsions every week and every month”.

The very serious danger posed by what in some cases may appear to be dubious no confidence votes and the resultant expulsions, is that the ruling party might be viewed by potential new members as a no-go area.

Worse still, little opposition and imperialists in whose lap the former sorely wish to ensconce themselves will use the negative goings-on in the revolutionary party as a golden opportunity to de-campaign their otherwise Bigger Brother.

Then there is this sad scenario whereby some war veterans have lowered their own esteem in the eyes of the public by denigrating their patron, President Mugabe who also happens to be the First Secretary of their party as well as the country’s President and Head of State.

Even more tragic than their blatant lack of respect for the top leadership of the party, some of the war vets appear so big headed to the extent of projecting themselves as being well above the revolutionary party that actually made them what they are today.

Shame on them, notwithstanding accolades that opposition parties and the country’s enemies abroad must have heaped on these sellouts as heroes.

The war vets did not make themselves what they are; it is povo — the masses — who fed them, sheltered them from the Rhodesian enemy and provided intelligence for them to prosecute the armed struggle to its logical conclusion of independence, freedom and democracy.

In this pen’s view it appears imperative for the party, not the former freedom fighters, to call the shots vis-à-vis the path that the revolution should continue to follow; otherwise the public at large will not only be demoralised but might even lose respect for the entire party leadership, wondering exactly who is who when it comes to the political nitty-grittys of the State.

It, therefore, behoves on those war veterans whose self- importance has been blown away with their ambitions to dig holes in the ground, spit into them and cover the holes as a pledge never again to behave as though they were a law unto themselves.

But, above everything else, the revolutionary party might wish seriously to reassert its no nonsense authority on errant former fighters to close ranks so that no spanners are hurled into the works of Zim-Asset, particularly now with foreign direct investors waiting eagerly on the wings to bring in the much needed capital to help drive our economy and with that the nation as a whole forward into a brave new future.

But perhaps among his priority tasks as their new minister, Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube should spare no effort in making those former fighters who have lately been behaving like unguided missiles rank back into line, or help them away with irreversible short shrifts to languish and stew in the political wilderness.