A group of war veterans has left the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) accusing its leadership of being used by ruling ZANU PF politicians and failure to check their excesses.
The breakaway group has also castigated the government’s failure to deal with perpetrators of the 2008 election violence, arguably the country’s most bloody election since independence in 1980. Karen Kazingizi, a member of the group had this to say:
Those who are implicated in 2008 cases where they would cut hands and arms of people should be brought before courts because that is not what we trained for and they know it.
We did not remove a corrupt and racist regime to place a similar one.
War veterans have over the years worked with the ruling party and have often been accused of violating the human rights of opposition party supporters.
The ex-combatants have over the past few months been at loggerheads with the ruling party, accusing it of betrayal due to unfulfilled promises on the sharing of positions in party structures.