Two more veterans arrested by Zimbabwe police

Zimbabwe police crackdown on war veterans after criticizing President Robert Mugabe has continued on Tuesday with the arrest of two more executives of their association.

According to a group of lawyers, the national vice-president of the National Association of War Veterans, Headman Moyo, and his counterpart in the Harae Hoyini region, Samel Bhila, were arrested for undermining the authority of the president.

This brings the number of the officials of the veterans association arrested to five.

“Police charged Headman Moyo and Samuel Hoyini Bhila who went to the Harare Central police station,” the Zimbabwe Lawyers Association for Human Rights said in a statement.

On Monday, Victor Matemadanda, secretary general of the veterans’ association was taken by police when he attended the hearing of Douglas Mahiya, the spokesman of the association who was arrested last week in Harare.

A statement from the lawyers also confirmed the arrest of the political commissIoner of the veterans Nhando Francis at the court on Monday.

A communique supposedly from Zimbabwean war veterans last two weeks stated the group’s withdrawal of support for Mugabe in his bid for another term in office due to the failing economy.

The government described the communique as ‘traitorous and treasonable’ while promising to take disciplinary action.

Another section of the veterans denounced the communique and last week, Mugabe met them to condemn the people allegedly “trying to cause chaos in the country including the West through their ambassadors”.

The group of lawyers who announced the arrest of Douglas Mahiya said his charges includes insulting the president, but they don’t know that of the General Secretary Victor Matemadanda.

A series of protests hit Zimbabwe in recent times against the country’s failing economy while others were in support of the government which blames Western sanctions for its woes.