News / National
Mutinhiri resigns from both Zanu PF and Parliament citing govt's hijack by the military
04 Mar 2018 at 09:13hrs | Views
The retired Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri who is Zanu PF legislator for Marondera has resigned from the party and parliament citing concerns over the hijack of the government by the military since the take over from the former president Robert Mugabe.
In a letter he wrote to the party and speaker of the national assembly Jocob Mudenda Mutinhiri said he resigns from the ruling party because of military intervention and removal of former president Robert Mugabe.
"I write to inform you of my decision to withdraw my membership from Zanu-PF with effect from today 2 March 2018, and by that very fact, my resignation as Member of the National Assembly for Marondera West as I was elected on a Zanu-PF ticket. I have taken this decision after carefully considering the events of the past four months, starting with the unconstitutional overthrow of the elected Head of State and Government, President Robert Mugabe and his illegal replacement with Emmerson Mnangagwa, by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) through a military coup on 15 November 2017," he wrote.
"It is a matter of profound national concern to me that, subsequent to the military coup, Zanu-PF as well as government and State institutions have been captured by ZDF in blatant and unprecedent violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
As a trained soldier, a former freedom fighter, a former ZIPRA Commander during the liberation struggle, a former diplomat and a former cabinet minister, I am too aware of not only the values and ethos of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and the subsequent role the founding commanders of the liberation envisaged for the national army in independent Zimbabwe but also of the functions and limits of the ZDF as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe authored through a people drive process and adopted after a national referendum as recent as 2013."
He said the fundamental values and tenets of both Zimbabwe's heroic liberation struggle and the Constitution of Zimbabwe dictate that executive authority is derived from the people and not from the gun.
"In other words, the enduring principle of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and constitutional democracy is that politics must always lead the gun. The ZDF coup of 15 November 2017 violated a cherished heritage of our armed liberation struggle and of our hard-won constitutional democracy," Mutinhiri wrote.
"I am, therefore, not lost to the illegality of the actions of a few rogue elements in the command structure of the ZDF who abused their positions to turn the guns they were entrusted with by the people of Zimbabwe to defend our sovereignty, into weapons to shoot their way into national politics and to seize control of both the State and Zanu-PF. Our national constitution clearly defines the role of the ZDF and outlaws any of its serving members from engaging in partisan politics as was witnessed on 15 November 2017 when some rogue elements in the Command Structure staged a coup in the name of ZDF under the shocking pretext of averting a Zanu-PF electoral loss in the forthcoming harmonised elections. "
He said it is now very clear for all to see that the party that was formed and driven by the liberation struggle guiding principle in Zipra and Zanla that politics must always lead the gun, has been hijacked and corrupted by fascist elements who suffer from the mistaken belief that access to the armoury gives them the right to dictate who should lead Zimbabwe and its people.
"I am a firm believer, as a disciplined former soldier and product of our nationalist movements, in the sanctity of democratic ethos and constitutionalism that put our people as the only source of legitimacy in the governance structures from local to national levels," Mutinhiri wrote.
"The fact that the ZDF trampled on the values and ideals of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and the country's Constitution is bad enough, what is worse and totally unacceptable is that Parliament, which has a duty and obligation to defend the Constitution also sought to be part of this shameless illegality. I have no doubt that history will judge this Parliament harshly for failing to defend the fundamental law of the land in a misguided attempt to justify a military coup."
He therefore condemned and despised any attempt at usurping the people's power by those entrusted with the national duty to protect the country's citizens and their leadership.
"I, like many others in the country and particularly in Zanu-PF, refuse to be associated with such illegality in the false name of restoring legacy of President Mugabe, let alone that of our heroic armed liberation struggle. The turning of guns against an elected President of the Republic by the ZDF, in a constitutional democracy is, by extension, the turning guns and military tanks on the millions who voted President Mugabe into power. It is therefore incumbent upon every patriotic, law abiding, Zimbabwean to stand up and condemn the coup and make sure that; never again will such an affront on the Constitution be allowed," he said.
"I am aware, as is everyone else who cares to look at the situation closely that Zimbabweans from all the country's ten provinces are not happy with the militarisation of our national politics. As such, I have chosen to be on the side of the people and to move forward with the people to restore normalcy, democracy, constitutionalism and legitimacy in Zimbabwe as a matter of national urgency."
He said it was an honour and a privilege for him to serve the wonderful people of Marondera West as their Member of Parliament.
"I wish to take this opportunity to assure them I'll forever be one of them. In this regard, I therefore shall always remain committed to their quest for development and true national unity with a common and inclusive purpose in accordance with the values and ideals of our heroic armed liberation struggle and the tenets of our constitutional democracy," he said.
In a letter he wrote to the party and speaker of the national assembly Jocob Mudenda Mutinhiri said he resigns from the ruling party because of military intervention and removal of former president Robert Mugabe.
"I write to inform you of my decision to withdraw my membership from Zanu-PF with effect from today 2 March 2018, and by that very fact, my resignation as Member of the National Assembly for Marondera West as I was elected on a Zanu-PF ticket. I have taken this decision after carefully considering the events of the past four months, starting with the unconstitutional overthrow of the elected Head of State and Government, President Robert Mugabe and his illegal replacement with Emmerson Mnangagwa, by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) through a military coup on 15 November 2017," he wrote.
"It is a matter of profound national concern to me that, subsequent to the military coup, Zanu-PF as well as government and State institutions have been captured by ZDF in blatant and unprecedent violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
As a trained soldier, a former freedom fighter, a former ZIPRA Commander during the liberation struggle, a former diplomat and a former cabinet minister, I am too aware of not only the values and ethos of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and the subsequent role the founding commanders of the liberation envisaged for the national army in independent Zimbabwe but also of the functions and limits of the ZDF as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe authored through a people drive process and adopted after a national referendum as recent as 2013."
He said the fundamental values and tenets of both Zimbabwe's heroic liberation struggle and the Constitution of Zimbabwe dictate that executive authority is derived from the people and not from the gun.
"In other words, the enduring principle of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and constitutional democracy is that politics must always lead the gun. The ZDF coup of 15 November 2017 violated a cherished heritage of our armed liberation struggle and of our hard-won constitutional democracy," Mutinhiri wrote.
"I am, therefore, not lost to the illegality of the actions of a few rogue elements in the command structure of the ZDF who abused their positions to turn the guns they were entrusted with by the people of Zimbabwe to defend our sovereignty, into weapons to shoot their way into national politics and to seize control of both the State and Zanu-PF. Our national constitution clearly defines the role of the ZDF and outlaws any of its serving members from engaging in partisan politics as was witnessed on 15 November 2017 when some rogue elements in the Command Structure staged a coup in the name of ZDF under the shocking pretext of averting a Zanu-PF electoral loss in the forthcoming harmonised elections. "
He said it is now very clear for all to see that the party that was formed and driven by the liberation struggle guiding principle in Zipra and Zanla that politics must always lead the gun, has been hijacked and corrupted by fascist elements who suffer from the mistaken belief that access to the armoury gives them the right to dictate who should lead Zimbabwe and its people.
"I am a firm believer, as a disciplined former soldier and product of our nationalist movements, in the sanctity of democratic ethos and constitutionalism that put our people as the only source of legitimacy in the governance structures from local to national levels," Mutinhiri wrote.
"The fact that the ZDF trampled on the values and ideals of Zimbabwe's armed liberation struggle and the country's Constitution is bad enough, what is worse and totally unacceptable is that Parliament, which has a duty and obligation to defend the Constitution also sought to be part of this shameless illegality. I have no doubt that history will judge this Parliament harshly for failing to defend the fundamental law of the land in a misguided attempt to justify a military coup."
He therefore condemned and despised any attempt at usurping the people's power by those entrusted with the national duty to protect the country's citizens and their leadership.
"I, like many others in the country and particularly in Zanu-PF, refuse to be associated with such illegality in the false name of restoring legacy of President Mugabe, let alone that of our heroic armed liberation struggle. The turning of guns against an elected President of the Republic by the ZDF, in a constitutional democracy is, by extension, the turning guns and military tanks on the millions who voted President Mugabe into power. It is therefore incumbent upon every patriotic, law abiding, Zimbabwean to stand up and condemn the coup and make sure that; never again will such an affront on the Constitution be allowed," he said.
"I am aware, as is everyone else who cares to look at the situation closely that Zimbabweans from all the country's ten provinces are not happy with the militarisation of our national politics. As such, I have chosen to be on the side of the people and to move forward with the people to restore normalcy, democracy, constitutionalism and legitimacy in Zimbabwe as a matter of national urgency."
He said it was an honour and a privilege for him to serve the wonderful people of Marondera West as their Member of Parliament.
"I wish to take this opportunity to assure them I'll forever be one of them. In this regard, I therefore shall always remain committed to their quest for development and true national unity with a common and inclusive purpose in accordance with the values and ideals of our heroic armed liberation struggle and the tenets of our constitutional democracy," he said.
Source - Byo24News
