Zimbabwe has pledged to deploy an undisclosed number of troops to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a Southern African Development Community (Sadc) peacekeeping force.
Report By Everson Mushava, Chief Reporter
Permanent secretary in the Foreign Affairs ministry Joey Bimha told NewsDay yesterday that Zimbabwe was bound by a Sadc treaty to second troops for the peace- keeping mission.
“There is an agreement by Sadc and Zimbabwe, as a member, is bound by it,” Bimha said.
“Zimbabwean soldiers will be going there as a Sadc force, not an individual country. The Sadc Standby Force is organised and financed by the regional bloc. Sadc will source the funds. The decision to send troops to the peacekeeping mission has been done by Sadc and countries will act according to the treaty.”
Bimha would, however, not shed light on the number of troops the country would send, referring questions to Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Efforts to contact Mnangagwa for details were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered.
This will be Zimbabwe’s second involvement in the DRC after President Robert Mugabe deployed thousands of soldiers to defend the late DRC President Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s regime which then was under siege from Rwanda and Uganda-backed rebels in 1998.
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The move courted controversy from several quarters with local economists saying the deployment bled the economy to death. Yesterday, Mugabe’s partners in the coalition government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, said they were in the dark over the latest decision.
“I was not consulted,” said Ncube.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said he was not aware of the move and would need to check with Tsvangirai’s office.
According to the Constitution, Mugabe has the sole prerogative to deploy troops.
Regional leaders met in Tanzania at the weekend and resolved to provide 4 000 troops for a neutral force to restore peace in the eastern Congo where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have waged a fierce offensive against President Joseph Kabila’s troops.
