Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and high ranking army personnel such as Major General Martin Chedondo, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba and Lieutenant Thabani Khumalo have made no secret of the fact that they belong to Zanu (PF), while urging their subordinates to ensure the party remains in power. Chihuri is on record warning police officers that those who vote for the MDC are unfit to stay in the force.
Alarmed by these utterances, the two MDCs have on numerous occasions appealed to the Southern African Development Community, the guarantors of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement, to ensure that the issue of security sector reform is treated as a matter of urgency.
The advent of the new constitution was viewed as a major step in checking the conduct of the service chiefs, whose wings it clipped by including provisions prohibiting them from interfering with political affairs.
Chapter 11 of the COPAC draft constitution spells out that service chiefs must act constitutionally and desist from acting in a partisan manner and furthering the interests of any political party or cause. They are prohibited from prejudicing the interests of any political party or cause or violating the fundamental rights and freedoms of any person.
However, doubts remain on whether the service chiefs, notorious for their violation of the Lancaster House Constitution for over 30 years, will feel bound by provisions of the country’s new charter.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora believes the new constitution is a good starting point but is not adequate to clip the wings of the service chiefs.
“The constitution provides a good framework for the behaviour of the security chiefs to be checked, but a good constitution alone is not enough. Political parties and the international community must intervene to make sure the security chiefs do not harm people,” said Mwonzora.
The spokesperson for the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, Kurauone Chihwayi ,said service chiefs had a history of violating the law and there was a high likelihood they would not respect the new constitution. “Although it is very clear, they (service chiefs) have always disrespected the laws of the country so there is likelihood that they will disrespect the new constitution. It all lies with Mugabe because he is supposed to control the military, the CIO and the police and tell them to respect the laws of the land,” said Chihwayi.
Political analyst Alexander Rusero said that the prevailing political environment limited any chance of clipping the wings of the service chiefs as they had for a long time been Zanu (PF’s) power base.
“The new constitution properly positions the service chiefs to where they belong. But to try to make use of it to check their behaviour is a bit tricky. That is why there have been calls for a roadmap to elections to complement the new constitution,” said Rusero.
Post published in: News