Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Special Report Enforcing the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe from Zanu-PF increasingly suggest parallels with the Rwandese interahamwe militia, who carried out the 1994 genocide. They have already inflicted untold suffering on the black rural communities that they claim as their constituency.’1 By September 2001, one faction of ZNLWVA, led by Andrew Ndlovu, demanded from the army retraining and weapons ‘in case there is a war’, instead of interference in the association’s leadership elections.2 The army had earlier agreed with ZNLWVA acting chairman Patrick Nyaruwata that the elections should be postponed until after the Presidential election in 2002. Ndlovu reportedly accused the army, air force and police of harassing ‘war veterans’, and the MDC of having infiltrated ZNLWVA. He had earlier, on 15 March 2000, threatened to use violence to overthrow the MDC if it won the June election. He said if the MDC did come to power the war veterans would declare a military government. ‘We will get arms to defend the government of ZANU-PF. We will invade military camps just as we have gone to the farms.’3 Police firearms were reportedly issued ‘clandestinely’ to ‘war veterans’ not employed in the force by ZRP Deputy Commissioner Godwin Matanga, himself a war veteran. Apparently these did not include the weapon carried by Joseph Chinotimba, which was the subject of police investigation. The CIO was also reported to have cached firearms on selected commercial farms invaded by ‘war veterans’.4 In May 2000, ‘Comrade Zimbabwe’ (a war veteran leader) told farm workers ‘If ZANU-PF loses this election, you will not say that I did not warn you. If we lose, we will get out our guns. We cannot allow the MDC to sell our country… We will be at the voting stations. If ZANU-PF loses, the way forward will be filled with war. You will witness our strength in the coming weeks.’5 In June 2000, Edmore Hwarare (commander of the war veterans occupying farms in Masvingo West and parts of the Midlands) confirmed that the ex-combatants would not accept election results if any opposition party won the elections. ‘This country was won through the loss of blood and not elections. Therefore, if anyone wants to take it he should go to war with the ruling party. Even if other people accept the results, we will not. We are married to this country and Mugabe. We are going to support Mugabe until we bury him.’6 During the June 2000 poll, ‘war veterans’ tried - in front of two EU observers! - to hijack two mobile booths in Shamva and relieve them of their boxes. As monitored by Politically-Motivated Violence in Zimbabwe 2000-2001 (pages 42-3) they have also been responsible for disrupting local government and ‘dismissing’ local government employees and civil servants, particularly police and teaching personnel. • War veterans in Plumtree shut down offices of Bulilimamangwe Rural District’s Council and the district administrators’ offices after accusing workers of supporting opposition parties. (Source: Herald 11 January 2001.) African Rights’ letter to President Obasanjo: see Appendix 1 for full text. The Daily News 3.9.01. 3 Daily News 16 March 2000 (reported in PMV). 4 The Financial Gazette 4.1.01. 5 Daily News 8 May 2000. 6 Daily News 5 June 2000. 1 2 48