Zimbabwe’s ruling party wants re-admit expelled former war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda, who was dumped by Zanu Pf for calling out former president Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace, for attempting what he described as a bedroom coup.
The Zanu PF Youth League says Sibanda was right as Mrs. Mugabe was blocked by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces when she made some moves to succeed the former Zimbabwean leader, who was toppled in a defacto military coup last November.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted one of the Youth League leaders, Archie Chiponda, as saying that Sibanda was the first to point out Mrs. Mugabe’s moves in 2014.
Chiponda told the newspaper that “… I think it was Jabu who first drew attention to what was happening and likened the situation prevailing then to a bedroom coup. I think in some instances he has been vindicated, hence when you find a loyal dedicated cadre like him, you don’t need to think twice about bringing him back.
“We will write to our representative body to say as Bulawayo province youth league, this is our resolution. We will pass it to our national executive leaders because we have faith in their capability and they will pass the message to the national leadership.”
War veterans of the 1960s liberation struggle are also calling on the ruling Zanu PF party to re-admit Sibanda, who is accused of allegedly spearheading a violent election campaign for the ruling party in 2008 in some parts of the country.
Sibanda has denied any wrongdoing saying his campaigns were not violent.
There was no comment from the ruling party and Sibanda was unreachable on his mobile phone.
Mugabe was forced to resign after the Zimbabwe Defence Forces seized all key state institutions leading to nationwide protests and a parliamentary motion to impeach the former president.
The former Zimbabwean strongman insists that he was toppled in military coup though the government claims that he threw in the towel when he was under pressure from his own people who staged protests urging him to step down.
The Southern African Development Community, African Union and others have indicated that Mugabe was forced by his own people to leave office. They claim that the military had a constitutional right to intervene to restore order in the country.