Obert Mpofu
said a committee had been set up but they had not done anything for the welfare of the war veterans. They have not even met them. So President Mugabe said to me “Mpofu I want you to mobilise ama comrades from the ZPRA side” while from the other side that is Zanla the task was given to comrades like Webster Shamu and now Supreme Court judge, Justice Charles Hungwe. We were told to unite so that we have an association that can easily be sustained and supported and that is how the current Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWA) was born. President Mugabe said, “Mpofu you are taking Matabeleland but we need to include uChiweshe because there are some Zanla cadres there. So we were given that mandate by the then President to go and organise war veterans into an association. That was meant to make it easy for the Government to support the movement.
MS: Then when you came down to the ground how was that taken by the war veterans?
Dr Mpofu: At first there was some resistance from the ZPRA side as some were not pleased that I had joined Zanu, but I pleaded with them, convinced them that President Mugabe wanted to take care of former freedom fighters. At the end of the day yabuya i-gang enengi babuya oMlalazi, Nicholas Nkomo who is now a Senator for Matabeleland South and had been a senior field commander during the war and oJohn Gazi, one guy owayehlanya kakhulu. But Gazi we get along well. We chose the provincial chairpersons for Bulawayo and Matabeleland North, mina I took Mat North. As I was already a Member of Parliament I then decided to pass on the position to Cde Headman Moyo who was then my secretary. So some of us were instrumental in the formation of the war veterans’ association which saw Justice Hungwe becoming the first chairperson. Later on came Dr Chenjerai Hunzvi and the other comrades came in and the freedom fighters started getting the payments.
MS: Then take us through the build-up to the Unity Accord, by then you were on the Zanu side.
Dr Mpofu: I was very instrumental on the Zanu side, mobilising abantu ngathi hayi madoda asihlanganeni. I joined Zanu because I had achieved what I spent my life trying to achieve which is one man one vote and majority rule, and now the people had indicated what they wanted which is what I wanted. I always tell people that I have never been recruited, I decide, that’s why I
don’t regret my decisions. I make my decisions soberly, I make decisions consciously, so we united our people. That time I was the treasurer weZanu here working together with the likes of Hebson Nyashanu, Waniwa and Callistus Ndlovu who had also moved from Zapu. At that time I was also non-constituency MP that is between 1987 and 1990. Then came the 1990 elections but I didn’t stand because I had not done much work on the ground. Instead I became a councillor under the Umguza Rural District Council where I did my ground work. People started supporting me and in the 1995 general elections I won the then Bubi-Umguza Constituency. I should mention that it was between 1990 and 1995 that I was part of several boards as I served at entities like Air Zimbabwe, ARDA, Defence Service Commission and so on. After winning a seat in the 1995 elections I was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce.
MS: Then came the 2000 elections . . .
Dr Mpofu: I lost my seat to Jacob Thabane of MDC. The reason for my loss was because the campaign teams we had deployed were very violent. That did not go unnoticed and the person who came out and told me that something was wrong was the now late National Hero and former Zapu intelligence officer who served in the NSO during the armed struggle, Cde Swazini Ndlovu. Swazini said to me “Mpofu, people like you but your guys on the ground bazakuluzisa.” It was an election full of drama of course as white farmers were on the side of the opposition as they brought logistical support, giving out foodstuffs then wena subuya ngesilogani. Like I said the situation was worsened by my team that used a wrong strategy, I didn’t like the strategy, I told them. Ngathi no madoda of course amakhiwa they played a role but lani. Because babetshaya abantu bexotshanisa izinduna abantu bephuma ngamawindi ebusuku. Then ngathi no, I will do the campaigns myself, ngahamba ngixolisa ebantwini, ngathi sorry badala ngabafana abaphambanisileyo. In the next elections because I had been humble enough and apologised to our people it was smooth sailing as people voted for me in large numbers without coercing them. The smallest figure I got since then was 16 000. As of now I know each and every village head, councillor and headman in Umguza constituency. So ngiyabazi bonke, ngiyabalanda ngizihambela ngedwa ngoba ungahamba lama body guard abantu bayesaba. So that’s part of my life.
MS: Anything you want to add to what we have been discussing?
Dr Mpofu: I have gone to school in between my political and business life. To my first degree I got in India during the war I have added a Masters Degree in Policy Studies which was a joint programme that was run by the University of Zimbabwe and Fort Hare of South Africa. I went further and earned a Phd with the Zimbabwe Open University. In business we have also been working hard as we are building a 60-room hotel in Suburbs here in Bulawayo. We started the hotel project 10 years ago and we are still pushing.