MILITARISATION OF ZIMBABWE: Does the opposition stand a chance?

When Major General Vitalis Zvinavashe and Air Marshall Perence Shiri announced in March 2002 that;

"… let it be known that the highest office in the land is a straitjacket whose occupant is expected to observe the objectives of the liberation struggle. We will, therefore, not accept, let alone support or salute, anyone with a different agenda that threatens the very existence of our sovereignty, our country and our people."

It became clear that the military had diverted from its constitutional mandate into civilian politics. As we brace for another presidential election there are many questions we ask ourselves; is the 2002 threat not going to be sent out again? If it does what would be the consequences? How far anyway is the army involved in civilian politics? It is the objective of this article to explore the levels of militarization in Zimbabwe and probably give a prognosis of the future political climate.

In 1980, when Zimbabwe got its independence from Britain there were more than 65 000 fighters from ZANLA, ZIPRA and RSF who were waiting to be integrated into the Zimbabwe National Army whose capacity then was a mere 30 000. What it meant then was that there arose the need to demobilize and rehabilitate the other 35 000 soldiers. The first program Soldiers Employed in Economic Development (SEED) was a total failure. Later the John Shonhiwa led Demobilisation Directorate decided to award a package of $185 per month for two years to each demobilized soldier. A combination of factors like lack of financial discipline and proper investment training resulted in most beneficiaries reverting back to poverty within five years. Thus although the government had managed to integrate the 35 000 into civilian life most had to rely again on the same government for survival. The problem of poor demobilization program culminated in the War Victims Fund, the 1997 Gratuities and the 2000 farm invasion. Ultimately though, this program produced a crop of perpetual government dependencies who the government also symbiotically used and continues to use to sustain its cling to power.

At the height of the ZIPRA/ZANLA clashes between 1980 and 1987, ZANU PF created the Zimbabwe People's Militia which was typically a vigilante. It comprised of mujibhas and zvimbidos of the liberation struggle and the ZANU PF Youth Brigade. This branch was under the command of the Deputy Minister of Defence and at one point was trained by the notorious North Koreans infamous for the ruthless Fifth Brigade. It does not come as a surprise that ZPM has been implicated in the Matebeleland massacres of that time. The total number trained was estimated to be 20 000.

The government reintroduced the National Youth Service in the new millennium. The purpose of the training although the government claims is noble was specifically to consolidate power. The curriculum of the program involves basic military drills and at most the more advanced military ideology similar to that propagated during the liberation war. In 2005 Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation Saviour Kasukuwere announced that 18 000 youths had graduated and absorbed by the government. Coupled to the ministerial objective of producing 6 000 graduates per year it extrapolates to about 30 000 graduates to date.

The Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police have in total recorded a voluntary retirement of about 15 000 members since 1997.
What then do these figures mean to Zimbabwe? If you add up 35 000 war veterans, 20 000 ZPM, 30 000 from National Youth Service and 15 000 retirees we have a total of 100 000 civilians who have at least basic military education and training. This number, add 35 000 from ZNA, 5000 from Air Force of Zimbabwe, 25 000 from ZRP, 10 000 from Prisons and about 15 000 from CIO it means we have at least 190 000 people in Zimbabwe who have a basic understanding of military language!

At the level of leadership and policy-formulation there is need to also explore the level of involvement of the military in strategic entities that strictly deal with civilians. We have many cases, below are just some notable examples.

The Minister of Energy and Power Development is Rt Lieutenant General Mike Nyambuya. Rt Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri is the Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation. Ministry of Transport has Rt Colonel Hubert Nyanhongo as Deputy Minister, whilst National Railways of Zimbabwe has Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba and Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai as Board Chairman and CEO respectively. At Grain Marketing Board there is Rt Colonel Samuel Muvuti as CEO. Permanent Secretary for Industry and International Trade is Rt Colonel Christian Katsande. Justice Chiweshe who leads the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) is a former Advocate-General in Zimbabwe National Army. The Attorney General Sobuza Gula-Ndebele is a Retired Colonel. Brigadier General Gibson Mashingaidze and Rt Lt Colonel Charles Nhemachena are both with the Sports and Recreation Commission.

What do these appointments mean to Zimbabwe?

Food (GMB) - ZANU PF controls
Transport - ZANU PF controls
Energy, fuel, Power - ZANU PF controls
Industry, Trade - ZANU PF controls
Sport - ZANU PF controls
Youth - ZANU PF controls
Attorney General - ZANU PF controls
Elections - ZANU PF controls

In the Joint Operations Command , there are Ministries of Defence, Finance, State Security, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs. The military therefore controls the finances in one way or the other. Even the foreign policy is dictated by the military and not parliament, that's why there are a number of military men on diplomatic missions- Rt Major General Jevan Maseko in Cuba and Rt Brigadier Elsha Muzonzini in Kenya to name a few.

The question we pose to ourselves then is: in a country of nearly 200 000 military people, in a country whose public sector is run by the military, where does the common man fit? Is there a possibility of civil participation in the country?

This predicament compels one to pose and think of the state of the opposition in Zimbabwe. Where exactly on this well-oiled military setup can an opposition party hope to paralyse the system. Are democratic options in Zimbabwe feasible?

Can the civilians of this country go and impose their right to vote on an institution controlled by the military, funded by the military, run by the military, with the military fielding a military man (Commander-in-Chief) in the elections?

The picture does not look good yet I am compelled to commend MDC for struggling against the military with bare hands, NCA for provoking and outrunning the lion every day, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights for trying to prove how wrong the judge was for killing a man and prosecuting himself before acquitting himself, ZINASU for scaring the lion with the cover of a book and the whole of the civil society for standing up to the military junta. It is time to bury the hatchet and be one!

The Struggle Continues


Freeman Forward Chari

Secretary General
Zimbabwe Youth Movement

ZIMBABWE: Choosing between two devils

When two devils at the table to discuss the appropriation of the boot it becomes apparent that the victim himself is about to be stripped and sucked to the satisfaction of the vampires. Whilst the prey is struggling to survive the monsters engross themselves in a struggle to clandestinely outmaneuver each other regarding the loot. The bottom-line however; is that the victim is at the mercy of the devil; so are the people of Zimbabwe .

The arrogance shown by the elitists parties in Zimbabwe – ZANU PF and MDC- in the resolution of the current crisis does not only confirm the widely held perception amongst the youths and the masses that both parties are the same only differing on players. Their ultimate motive is to milk and plunder the people of Zimbabwe in pursuit of unrealistic principles. It becomes a maze to try and choose the better of the two devils especially in view of the upcoming elections in Zimbabwe .

It might be necessary to analyze the two parties to see which one could be a better evil than the other. ZANU PF (The Patriotic Front as represented by people who went to the Lancaster House Conference in 1979) initially was made up of people whose conscience was driven by the unconcealed wish to free Zimbabwe ; nevertheless when freedom finally came, many found it hard to come to terms with it. They had misconstrued the meaning of the very word they had used for most of their lives. Some thought freedom meant shooting whites (Tekere), some thought freedom was the ability to take whatever one wanted at whatever time without being accountable to anyone, (all those implicated in the Willowgate Scandal etc); some obviously because of the comfort with which it brought thought that freedom is an asset which can be debited to one’s ledger and so began to view it as a personal fortune guaranteeing monopoly ( Mugabe, Zvinavashe of the straightjacket fame etc) we might forgive these as senile people but what of those who are still perpetrating abuses on their people.

It might be a waste of time to draw attention to all the crimes the ruling class is committing against the people of Zimbabwe yet it reminds me of Steve Biko,

“When, I turn on my radio, when I hear that someone in Pondoland forest was beaten and tortured, I say we have been lied to: Hitler is not dead. When I turn on my radio and I hear that someone in jail slipped off a piece of soap, fell and died I say that we have been lied to: Hitler is not dead.”

Maybe one needs to add a few instances to make this applicable to Zimbabwe :

“ When, I turn on my radio, when I hear that murderers were pardoned for killing people during the 2002 elections, I say we have been lied to: Hitler is not dead. When I turn on my radio and I hear that the only rational minister in this government died while bathing in a hotel, I say that we have been lied to: Hitler is not dead he is probably sitting in an office in Harare !”

Now the Movement for Democratic Change is again another collection of elitist personalities whose existence is influenced by envy of the ZANU PF looting system. It typifies the very aspects which ZANU PF is guilty of. It remains a fact that MDC is a Western sponsored party. Whilst there is virtually nothing wrong with getting sponsorship from anywhere in the world it is its blatant association with the well-known proponents of White supremacy that makes me and many of the people of Zimbabwe suspicious of this party. I am bound by extrapolation of logic, to conclude that the devil is about to reincarnate; that is if one plus one equals two then two plus one should obviously be greater than two. In this regard if a small devil joins with another small devil we have a bigger devil; what if they join with another small devil again? That is MDC to us.

Let me elucidate on that; the way Morgan Tsvangirai handled the senate election impasse in his own party in 2005 typifies the behavior of a despot and thus I do not like despots because they are evil. So we have a small monster in him. That’s one.

The natural behavior of the whites in Zimbabwe was known to be purely and typically in perpetuance of the white supremacy premise. For example, a visit to Triangle Limited in the Lowveld in 1996 could have shown you what I mean. All whites regardless of posts or qualifications stayed in the low density company suburbs and mind you some where boilermakers like blacks who stayed in Section 6. They went to Triangle Country Club free of charge whilst the black workers had to fork out more than double their salaries to be allowed in. They went to Collin Saunders Hospital which had an elite section for first-class employees (which all whites were) but blacks had to go to a different facility within the same yard with a proportion of 30 patients to one doctor. They had their own primary school and their children would be sent to school by the company yet those who actually had nothing had to pay fees for their children at low class schools like Dunuza and Ngwindi. This alone shows how skewed these people were and thus they qualify to be small devils.

Morgan Tsvangirai came out in the open on national TV soliciting for funds from these same whites! And for the record one of the meetings for the formation of MDC was held in Triangle. Now today, Morgan is leading a band wagon which includes an American trained robotics professor and a convicted thief and fraudster, around the western world (another devil in the eyes of Africans) soliciting for assistance to take over the country. God knows where we are headed for.

Now given the above state of affairs and the status quo plus the meeting of the devils under the initiative of another failure who cannot even see that Azania is still under the manacles of apartheid what can a common man expect? Can he expect that when the two devils sit down to talk they would choose to remove each other’s menacing teeth for the benefit of the masses of Zimbabwe or rather they would choose to sharpen them in anticipation to devour more from them?

Having said this, I at a personal level, am a proponent of a People’s Movement. A movement that is purely mass driven and clear on its dealings with the people of Zimbabwe . A movement whose drive is to specifically align the growth of the country to the development of its people. This same movement should be clear on its dealings with the whites of this country, that:

1) Zimbabwe is a plural society whose growth and sustenance is attributable to the efforts of all races in the country.
2) Zimbabwe belongs o blacks as does Britain to whites and that all whites who are Zimbabwean remain so on terms set out by the blacks in the same way that blacks in Britain or any other white man’s country live on terms spelt out by them.

This obviously should not be misconstrued to mean that we are anti-white, No, No! Africans are the natural inhabitants of Zimbabwe and therefore are the owners; whites are always welcome as long as they prescribe to the dominion of Africans!

This movement should definitely exclude protagonists of the current spheres. In other words we cannot risk the dirt on the hands of both ZANU PF and MDC. For the record, all personalities who are sustaining themselves through the delicacies brewed from the current crisis (I mean the so-called civil society which is not so civil) should if possible be excluded from the process. First to be excluded also are all those who once caused pain and suffering to the masses of Zimbabwe especially the bamboozled former Minister of Propaganda!

Finally it would be foolhardy to think that the movement would, if formed today be in a position to participate in the 2008 election. Nevertheless it can influence the course of events in a manner never thought of in Zimbabwe . It could be the only medium for the people to express their disregard of both ZANU PF and MDC: maybe a mass boycott may do!


Freeman Forward Chari

Former University of Zimbabwe SRC Chairman and currently Secretary General of Zimbabwe Youth Movement.