More War Vets fight in Cde Bombshell Geza’s corner, criticize President Mnangagwa: “We agree with Geza and those who are demanding change”

A groundswell of discontent is brewing within the ranks of Zimbabwe’s war veterans, with a growing number voicing their support for Zanu PF central committee member Blessed “Bombshell” Geza’s recent call for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.

The War Veterans Pressure Group (WVPG) has become the latest voice to condemn Mnangagwa’s government, citing alleged suppression of dissent, constitutional violations, and a perceived abandonment of the values that underpinned Zimbabwe’s hard-won independence.

The WVPG’s criticism follows Geza’s much-publicised and scathing attack on Mnangagwa’s leadership, which has reportedly forced the former into hiding. The pressure group’s statement underscores a growing sense of disillusionment among veterans who feel that the current administration has strayed from the principles of the liberation struggle.

“To that end, our perception of the situation in the country resonates with that expressed by comrades, specifically, Cde Geza and war-time commanders who are demanding change,” the group stated, aligning themselves with Geza’s sentiments and the broader calls for reform.

The WVPG went on to paint a grim picture of Zimbabwe’s current state, accusing State authorities of systemic abuse, economic mismanagement, and implementing policies that “reverse the gains of the revolution.” The group’s statement paints a picture of a nation “adrift in a sea of corruption, kleptocracy and lawlessness,” warning that the current trajectory dishonours the sacrifices made during the liberation war.

The lobby group accused Mnangagwa’s government of betrayal following its decision to compensate white former farmers who lost their farms during Zimbabwe’s land reform programme at the turn of the century.

In 2019, Mnangagwa’s government agreed to pay US$3,5 billion as compensation for farm improvements to farmers who lost their land during the fast-track land reform exercise.

The government has also allowed former white farmers to apply to get their seized properties back.

At least 4 000 former white farmers lost their land during the land reform programme.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube early this month said the government would pay 94 former farm owners from countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia.

The farmers are covered under Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (BIPPAs) that Zimbabwe signed with the farmers’ countries.

Ncube said US$20 million would be paid from the 2024 budget and another US$20 million the 2025 budget.

The WVPG also criticised Mnangagwa’s administration for bypassing parliamentary oversight in decisions related to the Compensation Deed and a new land policy requiring veterans to purchase land titles for properties they fought to reclaim. Citing sections 293(3) and 295(4) of the Constitution, which mandate legislative involvement in such matters, the group declared the move “a regressive betrayal of our fallen heroes.”

The veterans also denounced the controversial “2030 Agenda,” an proposal by Mnangagwa’s allies to extend his term by two years, labelling it a “nefarious subversion of the Constitution”.

The WVPG’s statement detailed past confrontations between the group and State institutions, including the 2021 arrest of 39 members during a peaceful gathering at Africa Unity Square in Harare. The veterans had gathered to deliver a petition urging the government to honour a High Court order directing payment of a monthly pension equivalent to US$2 000, as stipulated under Statutory Instrument 280 of 1997.

According to the WVPG, the charges against the activists were dropped three years later due to lack of evidence, following prolonged legal harassment. “This exemplifies the State’s ironfist approach to silencing dissent,” the group asserted, linking the incident to broader accusations of authoritarianism.

Among their demands, the veterans called for urgent economic interventions to address rising prices and inequality, alongside sweeping political reforms to curb graft and State capture. They also demanded compensation for victims of the 1980s Gukurahundi massacres — a period of State-sanctioned violence targeting dissenters — and the return of properties seized from the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army. Furthermore, the group urged the government to prioritise the benefiting of citizens from natural resources over foreign interests.

Veterans of the Liberation Struggle minister Monica Mavhunga was not answering her phone when NewsDay tried to seek a comment from her.

Meanwhile, former Zanu-PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere has weighed in on the growing dissent, suggesting that President Mnangagwa’s days in office are numbered. Kasukuwere, who has been in self-imposed exile in South Africa since the 2017 military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, believes that Mnangagwa has lost a crucial constituency from which he cannot recover: the war veterans.

“Once those war veterans say your job is done, that’s the end. He’s hanging around, but the truth of the matter is he’s gone. The most critical branch in Zanu-PF is that thing called the war veterans,” Kasukuwere said in an interview with HStv released two weeks ago.

Kasukuwere, a former Minister in the Robert Mugabe government and also a former CIO operative, spoke as a group of outspoken war veterans revealed plans for a nationwide shutdown to force Mnangagwa to step down.

The group is led by Blessed Geza, who denies that they are acting as a front for Mnangagwa’s ambitious deputy, retired army general Constantino Chiwenga. Police have since said that Geza was wanted on four charges – incitement to commit public violence, undermining the authority of the president, vehicle theft and allegedly selling three vehicles without the owner’s consent.