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Minister Saviour Kasukuwere

Harare Bureau
Members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association have demanded an apology from Zanu-PF national commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, who in May branded some of them “drunkards and taxi drivers”. Addressing members of the organisation at Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare yesterday, chairperson of the ZNLWVA Cde Chris Mutsvangwa, said he was deeply offended by some people in the party who were disrespecting war veterans.

Although he did not mention Cde Kasukuwere by name, he made reference to what he said at a rally in Hwedza in May on the “drunkards and tax drivers” issue.

Cde Mutsvangwa who is also Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees, said he raised the matter at the Zanu-PF Politburo meeting on Wednesday. “I still want an apology over that matter,” he said. “We are deeply offended by that statement.”

In his address at a campaign rally for Hwedza North House of Assembly Member Cde David Musabayana in May Cde Kasukuwere said: “They are drunkards; some of them are not real war veterans. They were taxi drivers in Zambia.”

ZNLWVA secretary general Cde Victor Matemadanda, said such utterances called for action from the party’s leadership. “There is a party member who said the war veterans’ executive is composed of drunkards and taxi drivers. We want that person to come and show us the tax drivers and the drunkards,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF scoffed at calls to oust Cde Kasukuwere from his post saying the party had no time discussing petty issues. This was said by Zanu PF’s Secretary for Administration Cde Ignatius Chombo on Wednesday night while addressing a press conference soon after the 291st meeting of the Politburo.

His response followed calls for Cde Kasukuwere to be sacked by unknown “Zanu-PF members” on social media platforms. “I’ve never heard of that (calls to remove Cde Kasukuwere from his post). We have nothing like that on the agenda and how do we know about things that are happening in the streets. We have serious work to do,” Cde Chombo said.

He added that the Politburo had instead commended the work Cde Kasukuwere was doing in bringing normalcy to Caledonia settlement in Harare and had also received a report from him on the ongoing restructuring exercises in the provinces.