Jabulani Sibanda is the chairman of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association

Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association

Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association is a Zimbabwean organization ostensibly made up of veterans of the 1970s bush war against the government of Ian Smith. In 2005, the government looked into ways to make members of the organization part of the army of Zimbabwe.- History :The...

 (ZNLWVA), an organization originally comprising all the veterans that fought during the Second Chimurenga

Chimurenga

Chimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice, specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 and the guerrilla war...

 or Zimbabwe War of Liberation

Rhodesian Bush War

The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...

 which ended in 1979. Sibanda was 9 years old at that time. Under his leadership the ZNLWVA mobilized Zimbabweans in the takeback of land stolen under colonialism. He was expelled from ZANU-PF in 2004 for being part of the Tsholotsho Declaration.

Robert Mugabe endorsement

Despite the fact that he was expelled and therefore not a member of ZANU-PF, Sibanda, together with his ally Joseph Chinotimba

Joseph Chinotimba

Joseph Chinotimba is a Zimbabwean political figure. He rose to prominence during the invasions of white owned commercial farms that started after the 2000 referendum in Zimbabwe. He is widely regarded as a militant ZANU-PF cadre with unquestionable allegiance to the old guard of the ruling party...

, led "million-men" marches across the country to endorse President Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

 as the candidate for ZANU-PF in the March 2008 presidential election

Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008

The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on 29 March 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front , Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change , and...

., Jabulani was inducted as chairman of the war veterans with blessing from Mugabe. Mugabe at one time wanted Jabulani to be Matebeleland ZANU-PF chairman, an influential position, but heavyweights in the region refused to acquiesce to this.

Simba Makoni candidacy

Jabulani Sibanda, in his capacity as the chairman of the war veterans association, indicated that the former guerillas would go back into the bush if Mugabe lost the 2008 presidential election to Simba Makoni

Simba Makoni

Simbarashe Herbert Stanley Makoni is a Zimbabwean politician and was a candidate for the March 2008 presidential election against incumbent Robert Mugabe. He was Minister of Finance and Economic Development in President Robert Mugabe's cabinet from 2000 to 2002...

.