Zimbabwe Army General Constantino Chiwenga spoke in Harare. credit/BBC
Army Threatens Intervention in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean army is getting provoked with political wrangling in the country occasioned by recent sack of the President Robert Mugabe Vice, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
However, support blocks seem to have been divided between a group of young men who are supporting Grace Mugabe and the army who seem not in support of Mnangagwa’s ouster.
Army, chief General Constantino Chiwenga appeared at a news conference with another 90 senior army officers and warned those responsible for “purging” the country’s ruling Zanu-PF party to stop, or the military will step in.
This intervention, which is considered rare comes just a week after President Robert Mugabe sacked his deputy, thereby clearing the path for his wife Grace, who is now the favourite to succeed her husband, 93, in case of death and deposition.
Grace referred to Mr Mnangagwa as a snake which “must be hit on the head”.
Speaking at the army’s headquarters, General Chiwenga said the removal of people who were involved in the independence struggle, like Mr Mnangagwa, would not be tolerated.
“The current purging, which is clearly targeting members of the party with a liberation background, must stop forthwith,” he told those gathered for the news conference.
“We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in.”
Mr Mnangagwa previously served as defence and state security minister.
Mrs Mugabe, meanwhile, has the support of the younger “Generation 40” or “G40” group of Zimbabwe politicians.
General Chiwenga also hit out at the “squabbling” between politicians, saying it had led to “no meaningful development in the country for the past five years”.
The crisis, he concluded, meant Zimbabwe was struggling with “cash shortages and rising commodity prices”.