By Own Correspondent| Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri has told parliament that no life was lost during Operation Restore Legacy which saw the exit of former president Robert Mugabe and the ascendancy of his predecessor President Emmerson Mnangagwa into office.

Responding to Zengeza West legislator, Job Sikhala’s question with notice in parliament (Wednesday) on the number of people who died during Operation Restore Legacy, Muchinguri Kashiri said the operation was very peaceful and no life was lost.

She also disclosed that the new administration had not in any way conducted itself in a manner that threatened anyone and those who had gone into exile had done so out of their own voalition.

Said Muchinguri Kashiri:

“Not even a single life was lost during this operation. which spurned over the period from November 17 2017 to 18 January 2018.

If the honourable member was referring to people who died of the various ailments then that is best answered by the registrar general, whose office is responsible for the registration of births and deaths.

However if the Honourable member was referring to victims or casualties of Operation Restore Legacy which I believe he was, the answer is none.

As far as I am concerned no one was killed during this operation.

Madam speaker, since the coming to power of President Mnangagwa, the new government never at any time officially ordered anyone into exile.

Instead those that purport to be in exile did so during the Operation and they did that on their own volition.

In this regard the government cannot give any statistics on such persons.

Zimbabwe immigration laws allow people to travel freely as long as there are in possession of their valid traveling documents.

We therefore cannot refer to people who skip the country to evade the law as people who have been exiled and claim that it is exile.

If anything that is self imposed exile. We have not exiled anyone and therefore not a threat to anyone.

Those that are in self imposed exile know better why they are there. Those that returned home are staying here and safely.”