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'Army must delink itself from ZANU PF' Jonathan Moyo says

by Mandla Ndlovu
06 Aug 2021 at 17:47hrs | Views
Exiled former cabinet minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has called upon the Zimbabwe Service Chiefs to delink themselves from the ruling party ZANU PF and protect the gains of the liberation struggle.

Moyo was commenting on a photographic footage of the service chiefs attending the launch of the Eddie Cross penned biography of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Said Moyo, "SERVICE CHIEFS: witnessing Eddie Cross, an ex-Rhodesian who busted sanctions for Ian Smith's UDI & cofounded the MDC, revelling over the launch of his intimate biography of Mnangagwa. So why does the military bash the MDC for Mnangagwa and treat it as the enemy of Zimbabwe?

"SERVICE CHIEFS fought for majority rule under one person one vote; in line with s67 of Zim's Constitution that gives citizens the right to vote MDC, if they so choose; yet they bash the MDC for Mnangagwa, who's just had his biography authored by an ex-Rhodie & MDC cofounder!"

Moyo urged the military to take advantage of the month of August to implement the delinking process.

"THIS BEING THE MONTH of commemorating heroes of the liberation struggle, the time has come for the Military, to delink itself from #ZanuPF and protect the MOST IMPORTANT gain of the liberation struggle: MAJORITY RULE, based on one person one vote in a MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY!" He added.


On On the 28th of December 2005, the then president of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),  Morgan Tsvangirai wrote a letter to the late President Robert Mugabe telling him that, "As the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), you are no doubt acutely aware of the Constitutional provisions and the relevant Acts of Parliament governing the conduct and operations of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). There are neither constitutional nor legal provisions in either the Constitution or the Defence Act and the Police Act which empower you to transform these national institutions into combative political units of your political party ZANU PF."

The service chiefs have often been accused of interfering in civilian matters and taking sides with the ruling party especially during election times.

In 2017, the Generals stepped in to effect a military coup after accusing a faction of ZANU PF called G40 of purging ruling party members with liberation credentials.

Leading academic Professor Sabelo Gatsheni Ndlovu wrote on online publication Accord that, "In Zimbabwe, a strong alliance between ZANU-PF nationalist leadership and the military forces has stood at the road to democracy and post-nationalist dispensation. It has guarded the nationalist shrine up to today and has defined politics in terms of a straight-jacket that only fits those with nationalist and military background."



Source - Byo24News