HARARE – A group of war veterans who called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down say they are not backing down on their plans for mass protests to oust him.
The group, led by Blessed Geza, has scattered after police declared Geza a wanted man for the crimes of undermining the authority of the president and incitement to commit public violence.
Speaking from an undisclosed location in a video released on Sunday night, the spokesman for the group Knox Chivero claimed that Mnangagwa had sent death squads to hunt them down with instructions to kill.
Chivero said the decision on the national shutdown would not be rushed, using a Shona idiom which literally means “running is not arriving.”
He said: “Let me assure you that the liberating signal from Cde Geza is coming, very soon.
“As you will appreciate, this is a mammoth task because this is a people’s project, it’s not an individual’s project.
“Organisation and sufficient managerial competence to manage the public is essential. It means the planning and the execution and the management of the aftermath must be very meticulous so that we have the best results at minimal costs.”
In the video, Chivero spoke from a darkened room while sitting next to a window. He did not disclose his location and made no reference to Geza’s present location.
He insisted that the war veterans, who accuse Mnangagwa of economic mismanagement and seeking to build a dynasty, did not want any bloodshed.
“A good soldier, a good commander is one who wins the war with minimal loss but the best commander is one who wins a war without firing a bullet. This is precisely the philosophy of managing mass organisations and mass demonstrations whilst you’re in the belly of the beast which has deployed its dogs of war, hit squads and ferret teams specially trained in Belarus to hit, not to arrest,” Chivero said.
He claimed the hitmen sent to hunt them down also been secretly embedded in the ranks of regular police units like detectives from law and order and homicide.
He added: “So you will appreciate what we are planning against and what we are fighting against. We are fighting against a vicious enemy who has no respect for human beings.
“Cde Geza was actually followed by 10 different units or assassins to shoot at first sight without the option of arrest and giving the reason that ‘he resisted arrest that’s why we shot him’.”
Geza is a member of the Zanu PF central committee and until last month, when he recorded videos demaning Mnangagwa’s resignation, appeared to have been loyal to the main body representing independence war fighters – the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association.
Geza’s group claims a quiet majority are behind their call for Mnangagwa to step down.
A push by Mnangagwa loyalists to scrap term limits which would allow him to stay in power beyond 2028 when his second and final term is due to end has triggered sharp divisions in Zanu PF.
Supporters of Mnangagwa’s ambitious deputy Constantino Chiwenga oppose the move which is also being spiritedly challenged by the opposition.
Police last week arrested journalist Blessed Mhlanga on charges of inciting public violence for allegedly publishing videos of Geza on Alpha Media Holdings’ HStv. Mhlanga was denied bail by a court.
