Raymond Jaravaza, ray.jaravaza@chronicle.co.zw
SIXTEEN former Zipra combatants have joined Zanu-PF in Bulawayo, citing renewed confidence in the ruling party’s leadership and a desire to contribute to national unity and development.
The former liberation fighters were formally received at a Zanu-PF cell in Nketa suburb on Thursday.
Zanu-PF Director of the War Veterans League, Cde Voltan Ekem Moyo, welcomed the former combatants back into the party, saying the liberation struggle did not end with political independence, but continues in the form of defending national sovereignty and driving economic development.
“Every war veteran who sacrificed for the liberation of this country is welcome in Zanu-PF. The war against imperialism is still ongoing, and those who fought for this country have a duty to safeguard its sovereignty,” said Cde Moyo.
He said President Mnangagwa had consistently called for inclusivity and unity among liberation war veterans, regardless of their liberation movement background.
“The President has made it clear that everyone has a role to play in growing the economy. These former Zipra combatants who have joined Zanu-PF will have a voice in national development and contribute meaningfully to the growth of the country,” he said.
Cde Moyo also urged other former Zipra cadres who are undecided or remain outside the ruling party to reconsider their positions.
“The Zanu-PF basket is big enough to accommodate all liberation fighters,” he said.
One of the combatants, Cde Mitsho Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu (71), said joining Zanu-PF marked a personal homecoming after years of political disengagement.
Cde Ndlovu said he crossed into Botswana in 1976 before proceeding to Zambia, where he received military training under former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, General (Retired) Philip Valerio Sibanda.
“A year later, in 1977, I was deployed to the Northern Front, where we engaged with the Rhodesian forces. We had enough ammunition, but the challenge was that we had to wait for other groups to bring it from Zambia.
“We never retreated — instead, we expanded our operational areas,” he said.
After independence, Cde Ndlovu joined the Zimbabwe National Army on August 28, 1980, before retiring in 1987.
“We are the ones who liberated this country and joining Zanu-PF is one of the best decisions I have made,” he said.
Cde Ndlovu revealed that the Zipra combatants are scheduled to meet Zanu-PF National Commissar Cde Munyaradzi Machacha in Bulawayo soon.
“Cde Machacha phoned us and confirmed that he will meet us in due course,” he said.
Another Zipra combatant, Cde Elliot Mhlanga, said he was only 19 when he crossed into Zambia via Botswana in 1973 to join the armed struggle.
From Lusaka, he was sent to Libya for advanced training before proceeding to the former Soviet Union, where he trained in the Ukraine region, in Odesa.
“I was among the cadres who underwent training with the KGB before returning to Zambia. We later operated in Sipolilo (now Guruve) before being redeployed to Nkayi,” he said.
Cde Mhlanga said he was at St Paul Assembly Point when the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement ushered in a ceasefire.
After independence, he joined the Zimbabwe National Army and retired in 1988.
“Zanu-PF remains the only party rooted in the liberation struggle. I am happy to have joined the revolutionary party,” he said.
Liberation war veteran Cde Mavis Dube said she joined the armed struggle in 1976 with three classmates from a secondary school in Nkayi.
Trained in the former Soviet Union, Cde Dube said the hardships endured during the liberation war were justified by the freedom Zimbabwe enjoys today.
“Some of us stepped away from active politics due to past differences. I never joined the army after independence, choosing instead to raise a family. But the time has come to join Zanu-PF and be part of building the country,” she said.
The Zipra combatants’ joining of Zanu-PF reflects ongoing efforts by Zanu-PF to consolidate liberation war credentials and promote unity among former fighters, particularly in Matabeleland, where historical divisions have shaped post-independence politics.
The development also comes amid renewed calls for national cohesion, economic participation and recognition of liberation war veterans as key stakeholders in Zimbabwe’s development trajectory.
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