Like others, Mrs Mugabe must be arrested over successor comments – war veterans

Barely 24 hours after reports emerged that Grace Mugabe had challenged her husband to name a successor, Zimbabwe’s war veterans are calling for her arrest.

According Victor Matemadanda, General Secretary of the War veterans, the same call that the First Lady has made is what resulted in the arrest of some party members. So if the laws were to be fairly applied, she should be arrested.

In a one-minute video posted on Twitter by Al Jazeera’s journalist covering Zimbabwe, Matemandanda said, “Other people were arrested for saying exactly what she has said, so if the law is to be applied normally, equally, uniformly, she must be arrested.”

Asked about another assertion that even if Mugabe, 93, did name a successor his word is not been final on the issue, Matemadanda said it simply implied that Zimbabwe was no longer a democracy but more of a ‘‘dynasty in a dictatorship kind of leadership,’‘ which they (the war veterans) have said they are not going to allow.

“We have a democracy, it is wrong to think that … (unless) if we are saying Zimbabwe is under a dictatorship type of governance, but if it is a democracy, there is no kind of democracy where one person can have a voice for 20 million.” he stressed.

#Zimbabwe war veterans press conference on first lady Grace Mugabe #succession pic.twitter.com/zv7sGWRnLl

— harumutasa/aljazeera (@harumutasa) July 28, 2017

According to Grace Mugabe it was important for Robert Mugabe to name his preferred successor to end deepening divisions over the future leadership of the ruling ZANU-PF party, the state television said in an online report on Thursday.

Mugabe has ruled the southern African country since independence in 1980 from the British. He has previously insisted that the ruling ZANU-PF, and not him, will choose his eventual successor when the time comes.

“The First Lady and Zanu PF Secretary for Women’s Affairs has challenged the President to name his successor saying this has been the trend in other countries,” ZBC said online.

“The First Lady said there is nothing wrong with Mugabe naming his successor, saying the move will enable all members to rally behind one candidate.” Mugabe was present at the meeting but did not speak.

Zimbabwe has since independence always held elections in March, with the exception of 2000 and 2013, both years when elections were delayed by a constitutional referendum.