By Patrick Guramatunhu | “Chamisa himself knows he is too small to be saluted by these men of war. These generals are waiting for their turn on the presidency and this can only happen when Zanu PF is in power, so even if Zanu PF loses the election why would they let it go without a fight?” said Ignatius Chombo, a former Zanu PF minister and one of G40 leaders accused by Mnangagwa regime of corruption.
How many times did we hear Zanu PF apologists say the security services top brass would never salute Morgan Tsvangirai since the launch of the MDC in 1999? Security services chiefs, the likes of the late Douglas Nyikayaramba and Vitalis Zvinavashe, themselves said these treasonous statements openly. They were never cautioned much less court-marshalled – proof they had Zanu PF government approval.
Such threatening statements always came thick and fast whenever Zanu PF felt its iron grip on power was slipping. Zanu PF’s grip on power was feeble than it was runner up to the 2008 elections and it was no surprise many security chiefs made these seditious statements to bolster Zanu PF’s electoral chances.
Zanu PF lost the March 2008 vote but before the results were declared Mnangagwa, it is not clear who else were involved, stopped ZEC declaring the results. He then spent the next six weeks recounting the five million votes. Tsvangirai’s 73% vote count, by Mugabe’s own Freudian slip, was whittled down to 47%, enough to justify a run-off.
During the run-off all the security services; Police, Army, CIO and Prison Services; supplied manpower deployed to carryout operation Mavhotera papi whose primary objective was to punish the ordinary Zimbabweans for daring to reject Zanu PF and Mugabe. Tsvangirai was forced to withdraw and Mugabe won the one-horse race with 84%.
SADC and AU, for the first time ever since independence, refuse to endorse the Zanu PF electoral victory and political legitimacy forcing the party to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA). Agreeing to the need for Zimbabwe to implement democratic reforms design to end Zanu PF’s undemocratic control of state institutions including the security services.

Fully implemented the reforms would have made the refusal by any security officer to salute democratically elected official for petty political party allegiance a high treason!
The tragedy for Zimbabwe was that MDC failed to implement even one meaningful reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU because Tsvangirai and company turned out to be corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent.
The security services chiefs knew the primary task of the GNU was to implement the reforms and cut the undemocratic umbilical cord giving Zanu PF power over the Army, Police, etc. None of the security chiefs protested the signing of the 2008 GPA including the individuals who had proclaimed they would never salute Tsvangirai.

And there is not one iota of evidence to suggest the security chiefs interfered in any way to stop the implementation of the reforms. The blame for failing to implement the reforms is with the GNU politicians alone, especially the MDC leaders.

Zanu PF is a party of ruthless thugs who have always resorted to all manner of dirty tricks including fear and violence to retain their iron grip on power. The security chiefs’ refusal to salute opposition leaders was meant to instil fear in the voters that the country would slip into lawlessness if the people voted into power someone the security chiefs did not approval of. Opposition leaders were on the “not approved” list.
No nation should ever allow itself to be held to ransom. The people of Zimbabwe alone must decide who governs the country through the holding of free, fair and credible elections. That is not negotiable!

When Zimbabwe finally implement the democratic reforms and restore the rule of law; it is now a matter of when and not if, the present political system is unsustainable, and change is certainly coming; Ignatius Chombo held to account for his treasonous statement. He must name the individuals would not salute Chamisa and why he took it upon himself to broadcast from the rooftop such obnoxious tidings! – SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com…