Chedondo misguided
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 16:22 Written by Administrator Thursday, 10 May 2012 08:38
(mock battle in Mutoko)
Major General Martin Chedondo has once again hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. During a battlefield training exercise in Mutoko
held on the 8th of May 2012, Chedondo misguidedly told more than 3000 soldiers from 2 Brigade that the military must be allowed to participate in national politics before calling on them to support ZANU PF.
‘As soldiers we will never be apologetic for supporting ZANU PF because it is the only party that has public interests at heart...We cannot be seen supporting a political party that is going against the ideals of a nation, which came by as a result of a liberation struggle, which saw many of the country’s sons and daughters losing their lives. As soldiers we must support ideologies that we subscribe to, I for one will not apologetic for supporting ZANU PF because I was part of the liberation struggle,’ said Chedondo.
Chedondo’s utterances, though regrettable, are reflective of the general feeling among military personnel including Police Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, Head of Prison Services, Paradzai Zimondi and head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantine Chiwenga who have, often times pledged allegiance to ZANU PF. Civil society organisations and the pro- democracy movement at large have demanded security sector reforms ahead of any electoral process as such perceptions are an affront to the citizens’ right to self determination and detrimental to the holding of a democratic plebiscite. In 2008, after the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won the Parliamentary elections and first round of the Presidential vote, military personnel were deployed to communities to intimidate and harass communities to vote for ZANU PF’s ailing leader, President Robert Mugabe. The violence unleashed by the military and quasi- military groups led to the death of an estimated 150 people according to the MDC.
That ZANU PF was behind the gruesome murders of MDC supporters was confirmed by political flip flopper and member of the party’s politburo, Jonathan Moyo who wrote in an article,
‘The fact that political violence reared its ugly head between April and June 2008 had nothing to do with any gap in the constitution. Without justifying that unacceptable and unrepeatable violence, it is a fact that it was provoked by the politicisation and internationalisation of our electoral process...’
ZANU PF used securocrats to instigate this violence referred to by Moyo resulting in the withdrawal of MDC Presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai from the race. In a publication produced by MDC titled, Footprints of Abuse, the political party named military personnel involved in the reign of terror including Chedondo who was leading the campaign in Marondera Central district on behalf of ZANU PF. Such is not defending the country but fuelling divisions and abhorrence among Zimbabweans.
The mission of the Defence Forces, according to its website, is; ‘to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests of the Republic of Zimbabwe and contribute to international peace and stability’. The extract above clearly shows that the defence forces are there to protect national interests, which are defined by citizens and not by political players or the military themselves. By publicly supporting ZANU PF and using state resources to entrench President Mugabe’s rule by unleashing a reign of terror, the defence forces are negating their responsibility of protecting the people of Zimbabwe and disregarding both the constitution and the Defence Forces Act. If anything, the likes of Chedondo should be arrested for causing disharmony and encouraging a civil war in the country.
Well meaning bodies and individuals both locally and internationally including The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) should ensure the end of such attacks on democracy by reigning in such errant army officials who are intimidating well meaning soldiers into using state resources to abuse the very people they are supposed to protect. President Mugabe’s continued calls for elections are premature considering that securocrats remain unrepentant. In the event that the country goes for an election under the prevailing environment, the outcome, as in 2008 will be pre- determined.
‘Elections in Zimbabwe have become a mere concession to pressure to democratise, a gross form of lip- service to democracy characterised by the ZANU PF regime’’s use of authoritarian tactics, violence and intimidation to coerce the electorate to support it. ... through the use of the military, ZANU PF has perfected the art of taking citizens of Zimbabwe through periodic ‘choice- less’ elections where violence and intimidation play a decisive role in determining election processes and outcomes.’
Excerpt from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition publication, ‘The Military Factor in Zimbabwe’s Political and Electoral Affairs’
Civil society organisations, in an election roadmap developed in 2011 recommended that,
- Senior security and military structures in SADC and AU immediately engage the Zimbabwean security sector to establish a firm agreement and re-assurance on its constitutional role before, during and after elections.
- All military and security operatives currently deployed across the country be recalled immediately to the barracks and be confined there.
- All Security Chiefs must respect results of elections regardless of their outcome and refrain from interfering with, and making unlawful political pronouncements on political and electoral matters.
If the inclusive government and SADC, as the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) are serious about promoting the holding of free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, military personnel should be controlled so that they do not continue being a stumbling block to democratic consolidation.