Revisiting Veteran Recognition: The Vetting of Non‑Cadres and War Collaborators at Elangeni Centre, Bulawayo (April 2022)

Abstract

This research examined the vetting of non cadres and war collaborators at Elangeni Centre in Bulawayo during the April 2022 exercise, focusing on how the process affected dignity, welfare, and psychosocial wellbeing, and proposing reforms to improve Zimbabwe’s compensation frameworks. The study aimed to document lived experiences of marginalized veterans, assess the ethical and emotional impacts of vetting, and recommend reforms. Guided by Transitional Justice Theory and Just War Theory (Jus in Bello and Jus post bellum), the research analyzed vetting as both an institutional mechanism and a moral obligation, emphasizing recognition, fairness, and dignity restoration. A qualitative explanatory design was adopted, situating the inquiry within interpretivism. Data were collected through key informant interviews with veterans, officials, and community leaders, complemented by document analysis of legislative texts, constitutional provisions, and reports such as the ZIPRA Veterans Trust Report (2022) and the ZANU PF Central Committee Report (2021). Using thematic analysis, transcripts and documents were coded around three objectives. The study found that vetting was experienced as humiliating, politicized, and procedurally opaque, with affiliation based questioning reopening old wounds, corruption undermining credibility, and lack of psychosocial support retraumatizing participants. Women and elderly veterans were particularly disadvantaged, while delays and irregularities eroded trust in institutions. Statutory frameworks disproportionately favored combatant cadres, leaving informal actors marginalized. Overall, the research concludes that Zimbabwe’s vetting process has failed to meet constitutional and ethical standards, reproducing exclusion and trauma rather than recognition and healing. It argues that reforms must embed standardized criteria, trauma informed support, community participation, and depoliticized oversight, aligning national practice with global transitional justice principles and ensuring that all contributors to the liberation struggle are recognized with dignity and fairness.