This write-up has been produced under the guidance of three of the surviving four Zipa generals in consultation with some senior former Zipa members from both Zipra and Zanla.
The three of us are former Zipa/Zanla members of the High Command — Webster Gwauya (Happison Nenji), Parka Chipoera (Bernad Manyadza) and Tendai Kaka Pfepferere (Rtd Brigadier General Dr advisory ambassador Kaka Mudambo).
We hereby categorically make it clear/declare that we are not members of or aligned to any political party because Zipa was a national entity and we have and will remain national and as such, we cannot be devalued to partisan identities and will never be bum cleaners of any political party.
This former Zipra and Zanla collaboration under the banner of Zipa seals the vacuum and demolishes the old order of disunity and fragmentation.
This national unity being spearheaded by Zipa and other progressive forces is what is needed if the current fight for national survival is to succeed.
This document serves as a reiteration of the revolutionary stance adopted by the Zimbabwe liberation forces in1975 and one which culminated in the launch of the Zimbabwe People's Army (Zipa), bringing together Zanla and Zipra as a single liberation army.
Zipa's founding principle centred on a deliberate policy designed to avoid and eliminate the partisan existence of forces that both set out to liberate Zimbabwe.
Through this document, we want to further declare our resolve never to entertain submitting Zipa’s founding principles to any of the existing political formations and their political persuasions.
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We draw parallels to what happened during the 1974 to 1975 ANC era when the liberation movement was plunged into a political madness of disunity and debauchery aimed at derailing the course of events towards liberation and Zipa rescued and redirected the political and military trajectory towards intensifying the war and eventual liberation.
Our declared mission: Objective: To work with all progressive people and organisations striving to bring change in the task of uprooting a corrupt system bent on sustaining corruption of state governance institutions:
*Sharing our skills in the art and practice of mass mobilisation and organisation for the accomplishment of tasks 1
*Establishment and consolidation of necessary international relations with friendly peoples, together with global civic organisations.
The above tasks are achievable through total mass mobilisation towards the establishment of a National Transition Authority (NTA).
The National Transition Authority: We fully support and endorse the establishment of the NTA in line with the proposed NTA concept document.
The proposed path towards the NTA includes a nationwide mapping of all constituencies, followed by national consultative conferences leading to the formation of an NTA.
This would ensure that all sectors are represented.
Zipa is already supporting total mass moblisation efforts of all citizens and sectors, and show that the people are ready and that it can be done if planned under unwavering unity.
We operate on the principle of “Leave no one behind” (home-based and Diaspora alike).
However, the preponderance of the NTA should be based on popular representation through inclusion of people based on unblemished trek record of political conduct.
We bring with us our war time experience when we, as the Zipa High Command without any political leadership (Although the Zapu leadership remained intact, they did not interfere with the Zipa operations).
For the first time in the history of the Zimbabwe liberation war, we were apolitical and guided the invarsion of Rhodesia from Mozambique on our own when the tribal and murderous Dare Rechimurenga and Zanu High Command were languishing in jail for cruelty, killing of Herbert Chitepo and brutal murders, including raping of female comrades most of whom were under age.
Zanu and the Zanla High Command were infiltrated through agents under the directive of Ken Flower.
We, however, do not support the idolisation of individuals nor such slogans like the ….Revolution or Pamberi Na… and Pasi na…. because these are the root causes of dictatorship/tyranny/disunity, which has given rise to unparalleled tribalism and forced allegiance through torture, disappearance, abductions and murder.
The need for exercising caution: There are a lot of confusing social media messages and we should not forget that we are dealing with a highly dangerous and brutal organisation which is using proxies and masked social media blitz agents.
Nearly everyone is drumming for the removal of the president, but we are not Zanu PF, and it is not our business but theirs to recall him.
Secondly, after removal, they will put in another leader who will ride on the same system, and you will have achieved nothing.
Our messages to the Zimbabwe people: It is time for the system to go and pay for its wrongdoings.
This is your fight as people of Zimbabwe, of which we are solidly behind you as the people’s national ex-combatants and not those belonging to a specific party.
There will be no heroism, individualism or personal glory and we urge you to refrain from personalising the people’s efforts.
National efforts should not bear an individual’s name because it divides the nation and propels violence and tribalism.
We further urge everyone to refrain from inflammatory hate language such as shouting and scolding others, otherwise we will just be like the varakashi.
“We cannot achieve peace and progress with violence, and neither can you stop change with violence
The opposition: The opposition is non-existent, broken, corrupted, toothless, captured, and heavily infiltrated by the Zanu PF intelligence operatives; this is the main reason why, in the past 40 years, it has failed to produce victory.
Now it's time for us all to unite and work together as one, without which we can never succeed.
The security sector: The Zimbabwe military is a highly professional, organised, disciplined organisation with a clear mandate that operates within the confines of the requisite statutes and the constitution.
We hold the military in high esteem and some of us are proud to have been serving members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and as such, we do not expect our decorated heroes to be scolded.
The military should uphold their constitutional role and not take sides in the current political environment by ensuring maximal protection of the people.
The same applies to all security sector organisations. People do not want a repeat of the 2017-18 scenario, which helped not only to entrench ZanuPF, but led to the death of innocent people, the current corruption, looting of the Chiadzwa diamonds/other mineral resources, and externalisation of our wealth/heritage.
Ex-combatants: We, as the united former Zipra and Zanla ex-combatants rallying under Zipa, call upon all ex-combatants to desist from being personalised by selfish organisations and be used as tools for perpetuation of the suffering of the masses to whom we promised good governance and freedom of association and expression.
There are those ex-combatants who have developed an unacceptable habit of scolding senior ex-combatants, we urge them to desist from these habits.
Lastly, we are emphasising that Zipa was a product of the voluntary merger of the Zanla and Zipra military wings.
It was an armed body of men and women formed for the purpose of resuming and rescuing the Zimbabwe armed liberation struggle from the chaotic situation that had been created by the ANC leadership.
Carrying the war to its logical conclusion and finally establishing a just and popular socio-political order serving the interests of the people of Zimbabwe, was one of the objectives.
The people must stand firm against further capture of processes going forward: This is our guiding principle.
We urge you all to unite together, stand firm and support the idea of the NTA.
Our priority is on alleviating the plight of the people who must come first above everything else, and our own demands as ex-combatants should be integrated in the national agenda because we are not mercenaries.
