The increasing number of security commanders dabbling in Zanu PF politics ahead of the forthcoming harmonised elections is a cause for serious concern.
NewsDay Editorial
Army and police commanders, just as they did in the run-up to the sham June 2008 presidential run-off, appear to have thrown professionalism out of the window to campaign for Zanu PF.
These shameful activities are being reported freely by the State media on a daily basis. There is no doubt the commanders have the blessing of the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Robert Mugabe.
Lieutenant-Colonel Hwami Vengesai of One Commando regiment is the latest top-ranked member of the security forces to preach politics. He urged members of the regiment to “ensure their vote does not give back the country to the whites” at a recent function at the army barracks in Harare as reported yesterday.
Vengesai’s statements had a striking resemblance to Zanu PF’s tired campaign rhetoric that voting for the party is the only way to ensure the country’s former colonisers do not return.
Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier this week was also on record saying soldiers are free to join political parties of their choice. It is obvious that the minister was being disingenuous because soldiers are not supposed to be partisan.
There is mounting evidence that security forces have a rather suspicious interest in the forthcoming elections given pronouncements by their various commanders.
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Yesterday we reported that police officers and soldiers had been flooding the Registrar-General’s Office since the beginning of the week to register as voters following an order from their commanders to vote for Zanu PF.
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has been at the forefront of calls for his subordinates to register to vote for Zanu PF in the elections expected sometime in June.
Besides this being the height of unprofessionalism, it is also a mockery of the Sadc roadmap for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, which is quite clear on the need to confine soldiers to the barracks. The Global Political Agreement that Mugabe claims to respect is clear about the realignment of the security sector.
Unfolding developments in the army barracks and police camps show that the reforms are now urgent and unavoidable.
Political commissars at barracks and police camps are threatening to spoil the progress made so far in preparing for a violence-free election. It is about time that Mugabe’s rhetoric is translated into action by reining in those that are threatening a peaceful election by childish claims that the British want to resume colonial ownership, something they have shown no interest in doing over the past 30 years.
Sadc through its facilitator in the Zimbabwe talks, South African President Jacob Zuma, must be made aware of these potential intentions before it’s too late.
This is the right time to act to prevent another implosion in Zimbabwe because it is clear that the involvement of the police and soldiers in the run-up to the elections is not well-intentioned.
