The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) has vowed to defend the widows and children of war veterans in situations where they are threatened by government officials with loss of their farms.
There have been instances where the widows have lost farms after the death of the veterans whereby officials from the Lands Ministry connive with individuals to grab the farms.
Mashonaland West chapter secretary-general Mudzingaidzwa Nyikadzino Mudarikwa declared that war veterans consider those officials or individuals doing such things enemies. Said Mudarikwa:
We get mad when we are denied what is rightfully ours. We claim what is ours.
Our solemn liberation struggle pledge was to claim our land from colonialists and, therefore, to attempt to dispossess widows and children of departed liberation war heroes would be an affront to our cause.
Anyone who tries this automatically becomes our enemy. We were trained to confront and kill the enemy.
Mudarikwa said this while addressing mourners who had gathered for the burial of a senior Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative, Martin Nyashanu who died on Easter Monday.