We are not hooligans: War vets

Herald Reporter
The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association secretary-general, Cde Shadreck Makombe, has castigated some sections of the media for depicting them as hooligans.
At a Press conference in Harare on Thursday, Cde Makombe said the association was a victim of asymmetrical warfare and malicious propaganda to discredit the indigenisation and empowerment drive.
“As Zimbabweans, we are the shareholders of this country’s natural resources and therefore we should be at the forefront when it comes to benefiting from our wealth.
“All these insinuations are meant to cause confusion and chaos by divisionists who are in our midst,” he said.
Cde Makombe said their association accepted constructive criticism.
“We like cross-pollination of ideas from every Zimbabwean because we did not go to war to free ourselves as war veterans but to free every Zimbabwean.
“But the Selous Scouts of yesteryear who killed thousands of unarmed civilians at Chimoio and Nyadzonya are now the present-day messiahs labelling us as rogue elements of society,” he said.
War veterans, he said, were not interested in mere “flag independence” and wanted people to control their natural resources.
Cde Makombe said, “Sanctions must go yesterday because they are a burden on our country.
“We all should fight them to shame the people who invited them on us in the first place.”