PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe blew hot and cold yesterday, as he blasted war veterans and pleaded for support from his erstwhile colleagues, who have all but dumped him as their preferred candidate in the 2018 general elections.

Speaking at the burial of the late Retired Brigadier-General James Murozvi at the National Heroes’ Acre, Mugabe said war veterans should follow the example set by the national hero.

“He was quiet and respectable and he respected his government, he never opposed or criticised to say the government is failing. He was calm, very different in his actions to those who think that since they are war veterans they have the right to rule and direct things in a manner that they want, no, he followed party principles,” he said.