’The Gentleman’s Agreement Is Not Yet Settled’: Retired General Warns Those Who Fled In 2017 That The Blood-Debt Remains Unpaid
STAFF WRITER
The high-stakes succession power struggle within ZANU-PF took another explosive turn today after Retired Lieutenant General Winston Sigauke Mapuranga issued an unvarnished warning to civilian political elites, declaring that the unspoken “gentleman’s agreement” forged during the November 2017 military transition remains unresolved.
In a hard-hitting statement detailing the hidden tensions between military veterans and party figures, General Mapuranga cautioned against selectively rewriting the history of Operation Restore Legacy to marginalize Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and the military leadership that risk-managed the political changeover.
“When history is written honestly, it will record that November 2017 was no stroll in the park,” Mapuranga declared. “It will record that men and women in uniform placed their lives, their careers, and the safety of their families directly on the line when the nation demanded that the gun return to the barracks and the people be allowed to breathe.”
Mapuranga drew a line between those who stood on the frontline during the critical days of 2017 and those who sought refuge abroad while the military executed the maneuver.
“I was there. I know who stood where when the storm raged,” Mapuranga stated. “General Constantino Chiwenga and other comrades led from the front. They carried the crushing weight of Operation Restore Legacy on their shoulders while others—let us speak plainly—were nowhere near the operation. Some were hiding. Some were huddled across the Limpopo River, cowering in holes across South Africa, waiting passively to be fetched only after the dust had settled and the danger had safely passed.”
While acknowledging the varied roles standard in any revolutionary movement, the retired general stressed that a clear, binding pact was established among key actors regarding political rewards and mutual respect.
“We did not complain then. In any revolution, not everyone carries the rifle. Some carry the pen, some carry the flag, and some carry the future in their pockets,” he said. “But what we did establish—and this was a solemn gentleman’s agreement, spoken man to man, comrade to comrade—was that those who bore the ultimate risk would not be cast aside or forgotten when the harvest came. There was supposed to be a reward for the blood and sweat expended.”
General Mapuranga warned that attempts by political figures to overlook the military command’s pivotal role would meet resolute resistance from the veteran community.
“Today, that gentleman’s agreement remains unsettled,” Mapuranga warned. “To those who returned from foreign hideouts to inherit the fruits of brave men’s risks, hear this: history does not forget, and the military vanguard that cleared the path will not allow the revolution’s core pact to be rewritten by comfortable opportunists. The record stands, and the account remains open.”