The government of Zimbabwe has lashed out at an anonymous group of war veterans for their open criticism of President Robert Mugabe, saying authors of the controversial communiqué will not go unpunished.

“Government ... dismisses the said traitorous so-called communiqué, which is treasonable in the constitutional democracy that Zimbabwe is,” said Retired Brigadier General Asher Tapfumaneyi, the most senior civil servant in the veterans ministry, on Saturday.

Zimbabwe’s war veterans, known for their strong loyalty to Mugabe which helped him during the fight in the 1970s against the white minority rule in the former British colony, issued a statement on Thursday, blasting the ailing president for his “dictatorial tendencies” and for presiding over a declining economy.

The communiqué in which the veterans vowed they would not support Mugabe if he sought re-election in 2018 reportedly came after a seven-hour meeting between members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) and had no individual signatures.

“(Mugabe's) leadership has presided over unbridled corruption and downright mismanagement of the economy, leading to national economic ruin for which the effects are now felt throughout the land,” the statement said, adding, “The president and his cohorts ... have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle.”

Tapfumaneyi said an investigation has been launched to determine the “origins, authorship, ownership and purpose” of the statement by the veterans, adding that the government would “bring all associated with it to justice.”

“Any agitation or activism outside this very constructive process in the manner of this purported communiqué would therefore be misguided, treacherous and outright counterproductive,” Tapfumaneyi said, adding that some veterans have distanced themselves from the ZNLWVA statement.

Zimbabwe has seen a surge in public discontent over an economic crisis that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers. Many have taken to the streets over the past weeks protesting against Mugabe’s inability to address economic woes.

Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party is also in turmoil over a successor for the ailing president, triggering more concerns that the African country known for its rich resources would slide into more chaos.