What Chinamasa said on the BBC was not sanctioned by Cabinet. It had not been discussed with either Tsvangirai or President Mugabe. It was therefore grossly unpatriotic for Chinamasa to publicly instigate the military to rebel against the authority and the will of the people of this country. A lawyer by training, Chinamasa should have known better than to make such inflammatory statements.
We all know that, although both Mugabe and Tsvangirai chided Chinamasa for his poor judgement and foul mouth, Mugabe did not ask the justice minister to step down; he did not fire him from his job. This obviously means that the President approved of what Chinamasa said on the BBC. If he did not approve of the offending statements then he should have asked the minister to resign or he should simply dismiss him from the job.
In the past, we have seen the secretary for energy, Mpamhanga, testify against his minister, Elton Mangoma in a court of law. Fortunately for Mangoma, the court dismissed the case and the secretary for energy found himself with egg on his face. Here again, Mugabe did not take any sensible action against Mpamhanga. He did not even re-assign him to a different ministry.
It makes us wonder what kind of working relationship now exists between the two gentlemen. The truth is that the two now hardly have anything to do with each other, yet they share one ministry. This goes a long way to demonstrate that our so-called inclusive government is currently busy doing nothing.
But let us get back to our learned friend, Chinamasa, and his unfortunate and fictitious utterances. Perhaps the saddest reality of this matter is the fact that it is far from the truth. The Zimbabwe National Army comprises mainly professional soldiers who know very well what they are supposed to do and what is expected by this nation from them. They too are sick and tired of the manner that Zanu (PF) is ruining this country, and they also would like to see change.
It is not true that if the MDC and Tsvangirai win the next election the army will refuse them to govern this country. There are many senior military officers in the ZNA who are committed to their military responsibilities and not to politics and the usurpation of civilian authority. These are the soldiers who will refuse to stage a military coup to overthrow a legitimately and democratically elected civilian government.
Besides, the military know that should they try to thwart the choice of the people at the next election, SADC will take such strong exception that this country will immediately be suspended from the regional organisation. SADC member states are very likely to close all their borders with Zimbabwe, and this country will be squeezed to death, literally. They also know that Mugabe will not sanction any action that will result in this country being kicked out of either SADC or the African Union.
A military coup following a Zanu (PF) loss at the next elections will definitely result in Mugabe’s worst embarrassment and fatal damage to his cherished African legacy. Chinamasa’s attempt to incite the army to revolt against civilian authority must be treated with the contempt that it deserves. – makumbe60@gmail.com
Post published in: Analysis
What is Professor Makumbe wittering about! MDC have the majority in parliament, why does the party not use its parliamentary majority to force Chinamasa to resign. Professor Makumbe has the ear of Prime Minister Tsvangirai he should tell him to do something useful for a change!