War Vets Leader Matemadanda Arrested As Mugabe Clampdown Continues

The war veterans secretary general, Victor Matemadanda was  reportedly picked up from his home in Gokwe in the Midlands province and his whereabouts are not known.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said in an alert that five unidentified men stormed his home and took him away. The men said they would be taking him to the Law and Order section in Harare where his counterpart, Douglas Mahiya, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) spokesperson, surrendered himself after a raid at his Chitungwiza home.

Christopher Mutsvangwa,  ZNLWVA chairperson, is said to have gone into hiding, with unconfirmed reports saying he had already skipped the border.

Mahiya subsequently surrendered himself to the infamous Law and Order section in the company of his lawyer, Nyika Kanengoni, as he was immediately taken in and is reportedly being charged with undermining the authority of the president or, alternatively, treason.

The arrests are linked to a war vets communique shared after a meeting in Harare last Thursday in which the ex-combatants described Mugabe as too old and a dictator.