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Christopher Mutsvangwa

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWA) Matabeleland North provincial executive has broken ranks with the Christopher Mutsvangwa-led group as the fall-out over the communiqué denouncing President Mugabe deepens.

The Matabeleland North war veterans’ provincial executive becomes the first provincial leadership to dump Mutsvangwa and his group of rogue ex-combatants.

In a statement after a meeting in the provincial capital, Lupane, on Sunday, the ZNLWA Matabeleland North provincial leadership said they are not part of the crew that met in Harare to denounce President Mugabe.

The meeting was also attended by the Zanu-PF Matabeleland North leadership.

“The provincial chairman of war veterans, Matabeleland North Cde S K Mguni on behalf of all the war veterans in the province, would like to inform the party that we’re behind His Excellency President RG Mugabe, the First Secretary of Zanu-PF and President of Zimbabwe . . . who is also patron of the war veterans,” reads the war veterans’ statement.

“As war veterans of Matabeleland North, we’re wholly behind our party leadership. In addition we’re not part of the communiqué and the meeting which was held in Harare on July 21. We dissociate ourselves from the communiqué. Cde Mugabe is our patron and our sole candidate for the 2018 presidential elections.”

Cde Mguni said the war veterans’ provincial leadership was cognisant of the fact that they must remain guided by the party.

Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial chairman Cde Richard Moyo said war veterans in the province must be commended for their stance.

“They said as Matabeleland North war veterans they’re behind President Mugabe. They invited us to their meeting where they told their structures that they are not part of the group that wrote a communiqué denigrating President Mugabe. As a party, we’re happy because we were worried that they also could have been misguided,” he said.

Cde Moyo said the meeting was attended by former freedom fighters from the district to the provincial level.

Senior members of the ZNLWVA: the association’s national political commissar, Francis Nhando; secretary-general Victor Matemadanda, national vice chairman Headman Moyo; spokesperson Douglas Mahiya and executive member for Harare province Hoyini Samuel Bhila have pending cases before the courts for undermining the authority of the President following the publication of the treasonous document.—@nqotshili.