Zanu PF acting political commissar Patrick Chinamasa told
journalists at a Press conference in Harare yesterday that the army was
duty-bound to protect the country’s sovereignty and that there was an
unbreakable continuity between the ruling party and its military wings during
the liberation struggle.
The liberation wings, Zanla and Zipra, Chinamasa said,
remain at the heart of the ZNA.
“Always be mindful that there is this unbreakable
continuity between the liberation struggle and Zanu PF, between the armies of
liberation Zipra and Zanla and the national army of independence,” he said.
“Any notion which seeks to break this bond should be
rejected outright.”
The military played a major role in settling internal power
struggles in Zanu PF by leading a coup in November 2017, which led to the
ouster of long-time ruler, the late former President Robert Mugabe and ushered
in Mnangagwa’s rule.
The military, together with veterans of the liberation
struggle, have also led repeated violent electoral campaigns on behalf of Zanu
PF.
Chinamasa said the composition of the ZNA leadership also
told a story of the link between the ruling party and the military.
“It speaks for itself who are the commanders of the army,
who is the CDF [Commander Defence Forces], Cde Valerio Sibanda. Who was he? He
was a leading general in Zipra. Who is the commander of the national army, Cde
Edzayi Chimonyo? Who was he? He was a leading commander in Zanla. That culture
of defending the sovereignty of this country will continue,” he said.
Chinamasa, who was flanked by former Zanu PF political
commissars Victor Matemadanda, Webster Shamu and Engelbert Rugeje, was in a war
mode, accusing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of leading a regime change
agenda.
“I cannot conclude this presser without denouncing the
consented and orchestrated state of government via sponsored interventions
which have become a menace, funding by foreign intelligence services of
opposition political parties, non-governmental organisations which are
anything, but civil,” he charged.
“As you know, Zimbabwe has a record. We have something like
3 500 NGOs in this country. None of them, very few of them are helping towards
the economic development of the country.
“All of them are basically employed to achieve regime
change in Zimbabwe and we condemn it. They are clearly calculated to undermine
the orderly evolution of our political, economic and judicial systems and must
be condemned in the strongest terms.”
He said NGOs could not be allowed to threaten the
independence of the country.
“We are at the moment just understanding what they are
doing and if we clearly see that they are on a regime change agenda, ours will
be to request their deregistration,” Chinamasa said.
“Clearly, that is our responsibility as a country. We
cannot allow, as a country, international organisations which we register under
our legislation to subvert the sovereignty and integrity of Zimbabwe.”
He also blasted the Voice of America, a United States-based
international broadcaster, saying it was being used to fight the Mnangagwa-led
regime.
“To make reference to the specifically targeted propaganda
against Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans in Sadc via hostile broadcasts like the Voice
of America’s Studio 7, Zanu PF views this hostile broadcast in the same light
as illegal sanctions,” he said.
“It is an illegitimate and unwarranted interference in our
country’s domestic affairs. We take this hostile broadcast as part of the
illegal arsenal for regime change. We will resist these machinations as we have
done,” he said.
Chinamasa said Mnangagwa had been endorsed as the candidate
for the 2023 general elections and was poised to dump all opposition forces in
the annals of history. Newsday
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