News / National
Zimbabwean army team shocked in Uganda
22 Mar 2014 at 08:00hrs | Views
A Zimbabwean team of military personnel has been shocked to learn that there are army MPs in Uganda.
The team, which had paid a courtesy call to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, on Thursday said the military must be apolitical.
"Is the decision to embrace the military in Parliament well-accepted by the [Ugandan] population? Have you been receiving some kind of resistance from your population? In Zimbabwe we are having a problem, our people believe the military should not be involved in the politics," said Col Johns Mhlanga, a member of the Zimbabwe National Defence College.
Ms Kadaga defended the presence of the army in the House, which presence has repeatedly been criticised by the opposition.
"The relationship between the military and the population is majorly cordial because army MPs keep to their work. I do not think they organise rallies to address civilians," she said. However, their presence is subject to reviews, which, has been done twice.
Ms Kadaga added: "If a time comes when the population says it does not want the army representatives, the soldiers will go back to the barracks. In the meantime, they will be part of our structure."
Some military officers have in the past said that without the army in Parliament, there would be chaos.
The team, which had paid a courtesy call to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, on Thursday said the military must be apolitical.
"Is the decision to embrace the military in Parliament well-accepted by the [Ugandan] population? Have you been receiving some kind of resistance from your population? In Zimbabwe we are having a problem, our people believe the military should not be involved in the politics," said Col Johns Mhlanga, a member of the Zimbabwe National Defence College.
"The relationship between the military and the population is majorly cordial because army MPs keep to their work. I do not think they organise rallies to address civilians," she said. However, their presence is subject to reviews, which, has been done twice.
Ms Kadaga added: "If a time comes when the population says it does not want the army representatives, the soldiers will go back to the barracks. In the meantime, they will be part of our structure."
Some military officers have in the past said that without the army in Parliament, there would be chaos.
Source - Daily monitor
