Former freedom fighters from Zipra have said that they planned the ouster of former president Robert Mugabe together with their colleagues from Zanla. Zipra was the military wing of Zapu while Zanla was the military wing of Zanu during the Second Chimurenga. The Zipra veterans claimed that despite agreeing on a course of action to take after Mugabe’s removal, their Zanla colleagues snubbed them and followed their own course of action. In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Zipra War Veterans Trust secretary general Petros Sibanda said,
We planned the removal of Mugabe together with ZANLA veterans. We had all agreed what should be done after Mugabe’s ouster but, and unfortunately, our colleagues from the ZANLA side disappeared after we had done the job on 18 November 2017. On our part, we feel very much betrayed…We even have some minutes of what was agreed. We had actually agreed on some technicalities and what we should do as a nation.
The Zipra veterans welcomed Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa’s endorsement of Nelson Chamisa.
Dabengwa has taken decisive and intelligent decision to support Chamisa. We as ZIPRA veterans, we also support what has been decided by our party, patron and our commander-in-chief.
More: New Zimbabwe