Johannesburg, South Africa ? President Robert Mugabe calls them loyal war veterans, patriotic Zimbabweans who have risen up spontaneously to fight those who would betray the revolution that brought independence.

Most other Zimbabweans see them as violent foot soldiers in a state-sponsored war on their own countrymen part of an effort by Mugabe to crush his political opponents before next weekend’s presidential election.

Often escorted by a protective phalanx of police, militants have firebombed opposition party offices and white-owned farms. They have attacked homes and businesses. They allegedly have killed, kidnapped, tortured or simply beaten those seen as Mugabe’s opponents.

Few militants have been arrested. Fewer have been prosecuted. And some have been rewarded handsomely by an increasingly unpopular and autocratic president who is facing his severest political test against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in the March 9-10 election.

“They are doing exactly what (Mugabe) wants. Every day of violence is more votes lost for the MDC,” said Shari Eppel, an official with the Amani Trust, a Zimbabwean human rights group.

In fiery speeches, the president has encouraged and defended his shock troops. After parliamentary elections in 2000, he gave a blanket amnesty to those who waged a violent intimidation campaign against opposition groups.

“This is a betrayal of what we fought for,” said Wilfred Mhanda, a former officer in the high command of the liberation army that ended white rule in 1980.

“We fought most importantly for freedom and social justice and there is no political freedom right now,” said Mhanda, director of the Zimbabwe Liberation Platform, a group of war veterans that lobbies for good governance and human rights.

Joseph Chinotimba, who describes himself as a field commander of the pro-Mugabe militants, denied in a telephone interview that the militants have done anything wrong.

“We are totally peaceful,” said Chinotimba, who accused the MDC and its presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, of being behind the political violence sweeping the country.

However, Chinotimba himself has led violent raids on farms, and he has been charged with the attempted murder of a female neighbor he accused of supporting the opposition. He also was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm, but remains free pending appeal.

He once stormed the Supreme Court yelling, “Kill the judges.” With no interference from police guards, he entered the chambers of Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, whose court had begun striking down as unconstitutional new laws aimed at strengthening Mugabe’s hold on power, and threatened him.

Gubbay, who had been appointed by Mugabe, resigned after the government said it would not protect him.

Mugabe rewarded Chinotimba with a large farm.

The militants say they are helping redistribute white-owned farms to landless blacks. But many farms have gone to ruling party lawmakers, Mugabe’s ministers and loyalists like Chinotimba.

Over the past two years, ruling party militants have attacked opposition supporters all over the country. They occupied hundreds of white-owned farms, burned the houses of black farm workers and then used the land as bases for intimidating the country’s rural voters, human rights activists say.

Foreign governments have pressed Mugabe to restore the rule of law. The president promised he would, but the violence has escalated, with dozens killed in February.