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Zimbabwe War Vets Leader Declares War On Ruling Party Corruption


The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association says it will shortly launch a campaign to weed corrupt politicians out of the country's ruling ZANU-PF party, the organization's chairman, Jabulani Sibanda, said Friday.

Addressing some 5,000 veterans of the 1970s liberation war Thursday in Bulawayo after a march in support of President Robert Mugabe’s 2008 re-election bid, Sibanda told corrupt ZANU-PF officials, including cabinet members, to heed his warning.

Sibanda and other war veterans were Mr. Mugabe's shock troops for the takeovers of commercial farms starting in 2000 under the banner of land reform. Veterans recently mobilized to demonstrate in Zimbabwe's 10 provinces in support of Mr. Mugabe.

Mr. Mugabe has rewarded Sibanda's loyalty, recently reinstating him in ZANU-PF from which he was suspended by the party's national chairman, John Nkomo, who accused him of being disrespectful to senior party officials. Sources said the reinstatement did not go down well with some ZANU-PF leaders in Matabeleland who want Sibanda, a popular figure within the grassroots in Bulawayo, to be ejected from ZANU-PF.

Sibanda explained his anti-corruption initiative and his support for Mr. Mugabe in an interview with reporter Chris Gande of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...

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