Own Correspondent|PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa by his admission received the Kgalema Montlante Commission of Inquiry report in advance of making public statements on it and delivering it tonthe nation.

Besides noting that the report declared the military and police responsible for shooting six people that died in the post election violence of August 1, Mnangagwa somewhat arrogantly promoted to the rank of Major-General Presidential Guard commander Brigadier-General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, the man who commanded the killer military unit.

The army was called in after police had reportedly been overwhelmed by protesters over the delayed release of the presidential election results held two days earlier.

As the situation deteriorated, the soldiers were forced to use deadly force, killing six protesters according to the report.

Sanyatwe, who was commander of the crack Presidential Guard elite unit, was also key in the coup that brought to an end former President Robert Mugabe’s 37-year-rule in November last year.

In a short citation, Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Philip Valerio Sibanda said he had seen it fit to recommend Sanyatwe’s promotions to higher ranks.

Sanyatwe appeared before the commission of inquiry chaired by former South Africa President Kgalema Motlanthe and denied the military’s culpability in the killings, instead pointing to a “third force” and implying the opposition MDC, blamed for instigating the protests, harbours an armed section among its youth assembly.