Parliament will today debate the controversial statements and threats issued by security service chiefs including Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba to the effect that they would never accept a President without liberation war credentials.
Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya yesterday told the House of Assembly that he would introduce the motion today to compel Parliament to make sure that the wings of the service chiefs were clipped before they brought the country into disarray.
“The motion I will introduce seeks to point out the unconstitutional statement by some service chiefs and to say that it is a treasonous statement that seeks to influence the political outcome of elections in this country,” said Chikwinya.
Chikwinya said the statements in question included those by Nyikayaramba, Zimbabwe Republic Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Commander of the Zimbabwe Prison Service Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi and Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga.
“The issue is that we want the House to ensure these service chiefs reaffirm loyalty to the Constitution and the laws of Zimbabwe such as the Defence Forces Act, the Police Act and the Prisons Act. We also want the House to direct relevant authorities to do investigations and find out the prime motive behind making such utterances, especially during periods preceding elections, and to make the findings accessible to the public,” said Chikwinya.
He also said Parliament should come up with laws that criminalise such utterances since they were against the laws of the country.
“It is not only their utterances that we are worried about. There is also the issue of operationalising what has been uttered by these service chiefs,” said Chikwinya.
Nyikayaramba recently reportedly said Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was “a threat to national security” and that his actions justified army generals’ participation in politics.
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He reportedly declared security forces would do anything to make sure President Mugabe remained in power until they felt the “threat” was over.
