In March 2008 Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, signaled his readiness to set aside the constitution should Robert Mugabe be defeated at the polls, describing Mugabe’s opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai as an agent of the West and vowing to instruct the military not to take orders from him.
This was not the first time the military leadership had vowed not to salute Tsvangirai. On 9 January 2002 all security chiefs publicly and jointly declared that they would not salute a president lacking “liberation credentials.”
The former Commander of the Defence Forces General, the late Vitalis Zvinavashe issued a statement declaring that the country’s security sector would only support political leaders who “pursue Zimbabwean values, traditions and beliefs for which thousands of lives were lost in pursuit of Zimbabwe’s hard-won independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interest.”
The statement continued:
To this end, let it be known that the highest office on the land is a ‘straightjacket’ whose occupant is expected to observe the objectives of the liberation struggle. We will, therefore, not accept, let alone support or salute anyone with a different agenda that threatens the very existence of our sovereignty, our country and our people.
Similarly, Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba told traditional chiefs, soldiers and the police at 3-3 infantry battalion in Mutare on October 23, 2010, that no person without revolutionary credentials would rule Zimbabwe. Nyikayaramba, a serving senior military official, publicly proclaimed his support for Zanu (PF) saying, “I am where I am today because of the party. Some of us actively participated in the struggle and we cannot stand up and say we do not belong to that party.”
More recently, on 27 May 2011, Nyikayaramba told a weekly Zimbabwe paper that the military wants elections in 2011 which will be won by Zanu (PF) adding, “Truly speaking, I am in Zanu (PF) and Zanu (PF) is in me and you can’t change that.”
In May 2008, Army Chief of Staff Major-General Martin Chedondo told soldiers at an army shooting championship in Harare:
The Constitution says the country should be protected by voting and in the 27 June presidential election run-off pitting our defence chief, Cde Robert Mugabe, and Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T, we should, therefore, stand behind our Commander-in-Chief. Soldiers are not apolitical. Only mercenaries are apolitical. We have signed and agreed to fight and protect the ruling party’s principles of defending the revolution. If you have other thoughts, then you should remove that uniform.
Major-General Engelbert Rugeje addressing a rally in Masvingo in May 2008 stated:
This country came through the bullet, not the pencil. Therefore, it will not go by your x of the pencil. We cannot let the efforts of such people as the late Chimombe to liberate this country just go to waste. Today I came here by helicopter with the late Chimombe’s body. The next time I will come next week to Jerera, the helicopter will be full of bullets. You know what you did.
Rugeje also promised villagers that on his return after the vote, ‘the helicopter will be full of bullets.’ In Mudzi in April 2008, soldiers reportedly handed out bullets to villagers and told them:
If you vote for MDC in the presidential run-off election, you have seen the bullets; we have enough for each one of you, so beware.
President Mugabe endorsed this view by the military at one of his election rallies and warned:
The war veterans came to me and said, ‘President, we can never accept that our country which we won through the barrel of the gun can be taken merely by an ‘x’ made by a ballpoint pen.’ Zvino ballpoint pen icharwisana ne AK? [will the pen fight the AK rifle?] Is there going to be a struggle between the two? Liyekele ukhupikisana lombhobho [do not argue with a gun].
These extremely partisan political statements by the military are a subversion of the will of the people and a vitiation of elections as an expression of democratic choice. Chiwenga, in a manner that could unduly influence elections, publicly predicted resounding electoral victory for Zanu(PF) presidential candidate, Robert Mugabe when he said:
Our comrade, Defence Forces chief, our leader President Mugabe and comrade-in-arms will romp to victory. We say so because we have no apology to make to any house nigger and puppets. “If the opposition wins the election, I will be the first one to resign from my job and go back to defend my piece of land. I will not let it go…I am giving you an order to vote for the President (Mugabe). Do not be distracted…I will only support the leadership of President Mugabe.
Shocking and blatantly partisan as the above statements might be, the military leadership has not stopped there. A more sinister form of direct military interference in the political and electoral affairs of Zimbabwe has been through direct participation by members of the military in perpetrating abuses and in the intimidation of the citizenry.
Post published in: News