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No coup in Zim: ZDF

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WHEN the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) on Tuesday took the step of culling a potential threat emanating from the current political, social and economic situation in the country, there was nothing new or extraordinary about it.
It was history repeating itself as the military has, since the days of the liberation struggle, played a significant role in quelling potential rebellions caused by deviant behaviour from elements bent on destabilising the revolution.
The army was also fulfilling its mandate of protecting and guarding the ideals and values of the liberation struggle.
On Wednesday, the military was jerked into action through their timely intervention which will culminate in the containment of individuals who had been slowly dragging the people into the cesspool of a potential uprising that had been looming large in the country.
And the widely endorsed statement in the early hours of Wednesday by ZDF spokesperson, Major General Sibusiso Busi Moyo, that the army had moved in to address these challenges that had been threatening the country’s peace and security helped ease soaring tensions.
Despite numerous but hugely unsuccessful attempts by some ill-informed and mischievous elements to interpret the army’s intervention as a coup, the opposite is true.
This was the further strengthening of the long standing bond between the people and their globally revered military.
Said Major General Moyo in an address that was beamed on the national broadcaster ZBC TV: “To both our people and the world beyond our borders, we wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of Government.
What the ZDF is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country which, if not addressed, may result in violent conflict.”
President Robert Mugabe and his family, said Major General Moyo, were safe and their security was guaranteed.
“We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” he said.
“As soon as we have accomplished our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”
And true to their religious adherence to the tenets of peace and hard work, Zimbabweans went on about their business.
In a week that saw the re-ignition of the people’s hopes and aspirations for the much needed economic prosperity, it was ZDF Commander General Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga who set the ball rolling through an announcement on Monday that the military would not hesitate to interfere in ZANU PF’s affairs for they had a direct bearing on the populace at large.
And as Zimbabweans woke up on Wednesday to the news that the criminals who had threatened to hijack the revolution were being pursued, the ominous dark political clouds that had been hovering over the nation immediately began to dissipate.
Until that timely entrance into the fray by the army where General Chiwenga indicated that the military would take action if the infighting in the ruling Party continued unabated, the country had been on the verge of complete anarchy.
A ZANU PF grouping had literally seized control of the Party and key Government institutions.
They embarked on a massive looting spree that saw them accumulating huge wealth and sucking the country dry.
Buoyed by ‘their’ newly-found wealth which they unashamedly flaunted to the suffering, they then set their eyes on the country’s security sector, with the army on the receiving end of their relentless attacks for defending the nation.
To understand the army’s intervention, it is important to quote General Chiwenga at length as he addressed journalists at a press conference at the army’s KGVI Headquarters in Harare.
Said General Chiwenga: “It is with great humility and a heavy heart that we come before you to pronounce the indisputable reality that there is instability in ZANU PF today and as a result anxiety in the country at large.
What is obtaining in the revolutionary party is a direct result of the machinations of counter-revolutionaries who have infiltrated the party and whose agenda is to destroy it from within.
Having said that we strongly urge the Party to stop reckless utterances by politicians from the ruling party denigrating the military which is causing alarm and despondency within the rank and file; the current purging of which is clearly targeting members of the party with a liberation background must stop forthwith; that the known counter-revolutionary elements who have fomented the current instability in the party must be exposed and fished out; and as the party goes for the extraordinary congress, members must go with equal opportunity to exercise their democratic rights.”
ZANU PF’s history is replete with many incidences of army intervention that have saved the Party from total disintegration.
One such incident is the famous Mgagao Declaration of 1975 which is renowned for laying the foundation of two important historical events.
It laid the basis for the removal of Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole as leader of ZANU.
It also laid the foundation for the elevation of President Mugabe as the leader of ZANU at a special congress at Chimoio two years later in 1977.
Below are excerpts from the Mgagao Declaration.
“In line with our sworn pledge to liberate Zimbabwe, we hereby submit the following points for your consideration.
After a careful, deep and analytical study of the current situation in the Zimbabwe liberation movement in particular and the Zimbabwe revolution in general, we, as the people who have vowed to sacrifice our very lives for the liberation of our fatherland, wish to make our feelings and standpoint unequivocally clear to you in the interest of the liberation of Zimbabwe.
1. We hereby state our unswerving and unequivocal commitment to the liberation of Zimbabwe through an arduous armed struggle.
Events and facts have clearly shown that any other course of action would be tantamount to an open betrayal of the Zimbabwean people.
We therefore strongly, unreservedly, categorically, and totally condemn any moves to continue talks with the Smith regime in whatever form.
We the freedom fighters will do the fighting and nobody under heaven has the power to deny us the right to die four our country.
We vowed to fight for our fatherland and the bloodshed in the struggle to liberate our fatherland is ours and strongly not anybody else’s.
2. We hereby reaffirm our support for the Unity Accord signed on 7-12-74 by which the four organisations, ZANU, ZAPU, old ANC and FROLIZI were merged under the ANC.
We strongly register our support for national unity, but to us unity is not an end in itself, but means to an end.
Unity is not magic formula, but is one of the weapons in the struggle for liberation.”
The formation of the Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe (FROLIZI) is another case in point.
With Joshua Nkomo in detention from 1964 to 1974, ZAPU’s external affairs administration operated from Zambia under the leadership of Vice-President James Chikerema and Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo up until 1970.
Chikerema and Moyo were responsible for ZAPU’s early military activities including the major campaigns in Wankie (Hwange) and Sipolilo.
However, on October 1 1971, because of a leadership misunderstanding between Chikerema and Moyo stemming from the Wankie Campaign, Chikerema broke away from ZAPU and formed his own party FROLIZI.
The front capitalised on some disgruntled elements from both ZAPU and ZANU and pressure from the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to form a united front.
Its members were drawn from both ZAPU and ZANU. These included Nathan Shamuyarira, George Nyandoro, Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri, Tshinga Dube, Shelton Siwela, Enoch Dumbutshena, Zebediah Gamanya, Stephen Parirenyatwa and Charles Goromonzi, among others.
ZANU and ZAPU reacted by creating a military unit – the Joint Military Council (JMC) in February 1972.
By creating the JMC and displaying a measure of unity, ZAPU and ZANU succeeded in undermining FROLIZI’s claims.
After the formation of the JMC, there was no need for OAU to fully recognise FROLIZI.
This spelt the beginning of the demise of the front.
In 1973, FROLIZI itself split and consequently played an insignificant part in the liberation struggle.
Then there was the Nhari/Badza Rebellion which took place soon after the assassination of the ZANU Chairman Herbert Chitepo on March 18 1975.
The rebellion was crushed by the military.
The chain of events began with a low key secret meeting near Mukumbura just over the border in Mozambique on September 21 1974, a day after the swearing in of the Mozambican Government, enabling them to meet without fear of attack or detection since the war had virtually ceased.
Thomas Nhari and Dakarai Badza, who was also a senior ZANLA commander, met an officer; the other meeting was between Nhari and another commander, Cephas Tichatonga with a military intelligence at the same location, while the third on November 9 and 10 involved a senior member of the SB.
Junior commanders were aware of these meetings, but were afraid to expose Nhari for fear of being victimised or killed.
Simbi Mubako, who was a law lecturer in Lusaka at the time (still alive), summarised the reasons for the Nhari Rebellion as being:
“Sudden explosion in recruitment coupled with administrative deficiencies, enemy action and the existence of disgruntled politicians.”
Mubako explains that within two years, the ZANLA Forces had expanded to 5 000 from 300, hence making it difficult for the party to absorb, equip and feed such a number of cadres and the OAU Liberation Committee and the states which supplied the war were very slow in responding to the requirements of the expanding war.
Despite knowledge of these hardships and the reasons behind them as well as efforts that were ongoing to improve the welfare of the fighters, Nhari felt that the leadership of ZANU were having a ‘good time’ in Lusaka and Salisbury (now Harare) denying them better weapons to fight the war.
It is felt, because of his Russian background, he preferred sophisticated armaments to the light Chinese weapons that were available.
Not to be outdone was the Vashandi Group which was led by the late Wilfred Mhanda and Sam Geza.
It is alleged the group wanted to take over the Party in 1976, but was again subdued and perpetrators brought to book.
But back to the current situation in Zimbabwe.
It must be emphasised that the army has not taken over and it is important to go back to General Chiwenga’s statement in order to appreciate the role of the ZDF in safeguarding the country.
Said General Chiwenga: “Zimbabwe’s history is hinged on the ideals of the revolution dating back to the First Chimurenga where thousands of people perished.
ZANU PF is the political Party that waged the Second Chimurenga for our independence; the struggle that caused the loss of over 50 000 lives of our people; the struggle in which many Zimbabweans, in one way or the other, sacrificed and contributed immensely for our liberation.”
In line with protecting a legacy under threat, General Chiwenga said: “We remain committed to protecting our legacy and those bent on hijacking the revolution will not be allowed to do so.
Further, we must understand that the freedoms that we enjoy today were as a result of supreme sacrifice by some of our countrymen and women and this must not be taken for granted.”
This clearly is something the current generation, youths in particular, must never ever forget.

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