Zipra Veterans Trust spokesperson, Baster Magwizi, last week accused Zanla veterans of failing to respect the culture and values of the people of Matabeleland by sneaking into the shrine.
“We cannot allow them to continue with their untraditional acts. They are acting unZimbabwean, acting like aliens with an ulterior motive of not only to anger people of Matabeleland, but to also trample on their culture, traditional systems and values,” said Magwizi.
“Our Zipra comrades are with the people and will always stand ready to defend the people. We are defending the people from Zanla comrades by seeking a restraining order to bar them from ever entering the Njelele shrine.”
Zipra said it had already approached a human rights organisation to seek a High Court order barring Zanla ex-combatants from “deliberately undermining the Ndebele traditional customs, values and culture” through their visits to Njelele.
Matshobana Ncube, a human rights lawyer with Abammeli BamaLungelo Abantu Network, confirmed he had been approached, adding that an urgent court application would be filed soon.
Last year, Zipra stopped a Zanla project to exhume skeletons in Chibondo at Mt Darwin.
Zanla war veterans have been accused of visiting Njelele shrine to bath naked in nearby rivers, as part of their cleansing ceremonies.
