The government is facing mounting pressure from war veterans demanding systemic reforms, with exiled former cabinet minister Walter Mzembi warning that the administration’s response mirrors past political missteps that once triggered economic turmoil.
Mzembi, now living in exile, likened the government’s reaction to the crisis to that of former President Robert Mugabe in 1997, when economic panic led to the infamous “Black Friday” crash.
Muzembi argued that genuine war veterans are pushing beyond personal welfare demands, calling instead for equal resource access, transparency, and an end to corruption—issues that resonate far beyond their ranks.
“The system has really panicked the same way Mugabe panicked when challenged by [Chenjerai] Hunzvi on their welfare back in 1997,” Mzembi wrote on social media referencing the late war veterans’ leader who forced Mugabe’s government to pay out unbudgeted compensation, an economic shock that devalued the Zimbabwean dollar.
Amid these grievances, Mzembi singled out Dr. Paul Tungwarara, a businessman recently appointed as an ambassador-at-large, as an inadequate mediator in the veterans’ struggle.
He accused Tungwarara of attempting to pacify discontented veterans with material incentives rather than addressing their deeper demands for reform.
“He is too green to step into this issue and should not seek to cloud their judgment with gifts,” Mzembi said, suggesting that the war veterans’ movement cannot be placated by handouts.
He stressed that their demands for good governance and accountability require direct engagement from President Emmerson Mnangagwa himself, not intermediaries.
Tungwarara, whose business dealings and political connections have raised eyebrows, has yet to publicly respond to the criticism.
His role as an “ambassador-at-large” remains ambiguous, but analysts suggest he has been deployed as part of a broader strategy to manage dissent within the ranks of former liberation fighters.
War Veterans and the Weight of History
Many of Zimbabwe’s war veterans are now elderly, and Mzembi noted that their concerns extend beyond personal enrichment.
“They want to take genuine and authentic testimony to their comrades who paid the ultimate sacrifice for an Independent Zimbabwe—that they left things okay,” he said, suggesting that the struggle is now about legacy rather than short-term benefits.
