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Kudzi Chipanga

Tichaona Zindoga Political Editor

The revolutionary party has been set against itself with pillar and post being made to fight each other. This leads to the question, which must now be addressed: Is this how to destroy zanu-pf or the country from within?

If ever there were reckless and patently criminal utterances that have been made and that threaten the peace of Zimbabwe, which authorities must now be seized with, it is the so-called declaration of war on the country’ ex-combatants by Zanu-PF Youth League deputy secretary Kudzi Chipanga.

On Tuesday, Chipanga declared war on veterans of the liberation struggle whom he described as “sickening rabble-rousers” saying war veterans stood no chance against youths in a war or physical confrontation situation.

“If we say let us go to war today, how many war veterans are there? They are very few. We constitute 65 percent of this country . . . So be ready and we are going to call you when the time comes.”

He made it clear that this was not just a political war but a physical, armed war that he said he would be leading against war veterans whom, in his wisdom or lack of it, no longer possessed the physical power and agility they had when they fought for the country.

Chipanga’s utterances are to be understood in the context of a feud that has engulfed the ruling ZANU PF where war veterans are on one side, and younger politicians without liberation war credentials are on the other.

However, there have not been any more incendiary and more pointed declarations, making Chipanga a perfect candidate for arrest by the country’s law and order enforcers for the crime of inciting public violence and threatening the peace and stability of the country.

It is useful to note that at the rally at which Chipanga made his reckless comments, he was addressing youths in Harare South who were visibly all fired up and drunk.

The demographic of unemployed youths who are incited by politicians and are given money for beer is dangerous.

It is no doubt that these people will be called upon soon to unleash a reign of terror against political rivals, innocent citizens and obviously cause the destruction of property.

In fact, Chipanga has just lined up this paper, The Herald, as the first target of destruction by his terror group.

As we reported yesterday, Chipanga incited youths to demonstrate against The Herald for alleged “biased reporting”.

It is a matter of course that when he deploys the militia, the intention is not a peaceful one but to intimidate journalists of this paper and its sisters as well as other publications which those behind the campaign of terror perceive as not following their political thinking and machinations.

It is a clear case of seeking to deprive journalists of their constitutional right to freedom of the media and expression, which impingement we are sure authorities have already taken note of and journalism bodies such as the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists may not be too pleased constituting as it does flagrant and grave threats to media.

It has to be noted that this is coming against a background of threats by some top Zanu-PF factional overlords who have not only threatened The Herald in public, but also on social media in what is clearly a hate campaign predicated on vindictiveness.

Lives are in danger.

Now when the terror gang happens to knock on the door of The Herald, as threatened and which we fear, it will not take much to figure who will be behind the criminal acts.

And does it not surprise any observer that people who are not, at best, media professionals and at worst who are barely literate are the ones being made to attack this newspaper?

The other time it was a woman called Sarah Mahoka who once said she went up to Grade Two, but whom we now know that at best has some basic education whose attainment does not quite make her an expert media critic.

The Harare South mob does not seem to have the sophistication of media gurus either, the luxury of the newspaper being more useful to them as wrapping paper for homemade cigarettes, commonly known as chimonera.

And they are not to be trusted to be able to buy the paper in these hard times, anyway, for them to form any sustained media content analysis and scholarship.

So the acts of terror and banditry that are being planned emanate from certain quarters that must now be investigated and brought to book.

And it will also be instructive to find out who is funding these terrorist militia.

Is it not dirty money that has been laundered from illegal ventures on the land, some of which ventures, have been condemned by President Mugabe?

There have been reports of a couple of million dollars so harvested to make a war chest for political fights.

It remains to be seen.

It is now clear as daylight that Zimbabwe is in mortal danger of instability whose fires are being stoked by some factional characters.

Meanwhile, the revolutionary party has been set against itself with pillar and post being made to fight each other.

This leads to the question, which must now be addressed: Is this how to destroy Zanu-PF and the country from within?