War vets threaten to back the opposition

Zimbabwean war veterans, who have given President Robert Mugabe key support in the past have vowed to rally behind ‘competent’ candidates in next year's elections even if they are from the opposition. A report on the News24 site notes that Chris Mutsvangwa, chairperson of the association of veterans of the 1970s independence war, said the former fighters were ready to work with politicians considered enemies by ruling Zanu-PF. ‘We will not be bothered about political affiliation,’ Mutsvangwa said, according to the report. ‘We only want people who are competent.’ He added that ‘we can't have a party run on non-democratic lines’. Several war veterans' leaders were last year arrested after issuing a strongly-worded statement denouncing Mugabe as ‘dictatorial’ and calling on him to step down.