THE ARMY, THE KINGMAKERS IN ZIMBABWEAN POLITICS

 By Youngerson Matete 

On the 28th of October 2023, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa appointed Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda into the ZANU-PF politburo as an ex-officio member during the ZANU-PF’s 20th people’s annual conference. The Politburo is the highest decision-making organ in ZANU-PF politics. 

A move that has drawn a lot of criticism as it is in direct violation of the constitution of Zimbabwe. Section 208(3) clearly states that “Members of the security services must not be active members or office-bearers of any political party or organization.” It is important to understand that section 208 of the constitution was an attempt to cure the party-military conflation, which has long been a problem in Zimbabwe politics pre-dating from the days of the liberation struggle. 

The Zimbabwe army has been a kingmaker in Zimbabwean politics, in an attempt to remove the army from civilian politics the crafters of the constitution inserted this section to deter the army from being partisan. 

This followed a disputed election on August 23rd and 24th, 2023 which has deepened Zimbabwe’s political crisis further. However, unlike the 2018 elections when we saw soldiers shooting civilians after protests on August 1 against delays in the announcement of results. The 2023 elections saw the army playing an invisible role. The army was suspiciously quiet during the entire election period with the Forever Associates (FAZ) a splinter central intelligence grouping running the show.

The recent appointment of the CDF into the ZANU-PF highest decision-making organ (politburo) was a stark reminder of the conflation of army and party politics in Zimbabwe.

The army and party conflation-the liberation struggle period  

Zimbabwe then Rhodesia had a protracted conflict that pitted the white minority Rhodesian settler community who had colonized Zimbabwe during the 1890s and the black majority who were fighting against colonial dominance. It looked increasingly likely that the Smith regime was not going to cede power through diplomacy. The nationalist movements namely ZANU and ZAPU started an armed struggle to forcefully remove the white settler government in Rhodesia. 

This led to the formation of armed wings namely ZANLA and ZIPPRA to wage a war against the Rhodesian government. The military wings were stationed in Zambia, Tanzania and lately Mozambique. It was at this time that most of the nationalist political leadership was incarcerated in Rhodesia. As the war was being fought and the nationalist political leadership were in  jail in Rhodesia they grew less and less in influencing the armed military control as the military men began to grow more in decision-making and power. The command element was slowly being moved away from civilian political leadership to military men. 

Assassination of Herbert Chitepo

Chitepo died on 18 March 1975 in Lusaka Zambia when a car bomb, placed in his Volkswagen Beetle the night before, exploded. He and Silas Shamiso, one of his bodyguards, were killed instantly. Sadat Kufamadzuba, his other bodyguard, was injured. The explosion sent part of the car onto the roof of his house and uprooted a tree next door. Hours later one of his neighbours died of injuries he sustained in the explosion. ZANU at the time blamed the Rhodesian security forces. 

Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda commissioned an inquiry into Chitepo's death. Documents released in October 2001, placed the blame on ZANU infighting. The infighting was significantly about the leadership control of both the party and military operations. Although, many members of the military wing subscribed to the leadership of Herbert Chitepo as the ZANU party chairman. There was a growing discontent about whether he should be allowed to have more influence in military decision-making by the top echelon of the military. 

This was further exacerbated by how he had overruled Tongogara’s decision to execute the Nhari rebellion after they had staged a mutiny when the military leadership was away in China on a military exchange trip. 

Tongogara wanted the Nhari group executed for undermining his leadership but Chitepo preferred that they be stripped of their badges as he sympathised with their complaints. This didn’t go well with Tongogara who later executed the group disregarding Chitepo’s decision. This further fractured the trust between politicians and military leaders and Chitepo lost his life. 

The Mgagao Declaration-the removal of Ndabanhingi Sithole and subsequent promotion of Mugabe into party leadership

Mgago declaration was a communique written by Junior ZANLA fighters in Tanzania at the height of the liberation struggle in November 1975. Although it is alleged that it was written by young ZANLA soldiers it had the blessing of high-ranking military commanders like Rex Nhongo ( Solomon Mujuru) who later refused to sign it after it was leaked to the media and it angered Julius Nyerere who was still in favor of the leadership of Ndabanhingi Sithole as revealed in the (Army and Politics In Zimbabwe-Solomon Mujuru The Kingmaker) by Blessing Miles Tendi.

 The Mgagao Declaration laid a foundation for two significant historical developments in the Zimbabwean political landscape. The removal of Ndabaningi Sithole as the leader of ZANU and the elevation of Robert Mugabe as the new leader. This marked a shift in Zimbabwean politics as for the first time, the ZANLA military command successfully changed the party leadership as Solomon Mujuru will play a key role in Mugabe’s rise to power in ZANU in 1977. The army has had its way in ZANU despite the resistance of Mugabe's leadership in the rank and file of the party

Independence and the Gukurahundi masscres 

Robert Mugabe, who had benefitted from military support in taking over power from Sithole, continued using the army for his selfish political gains. During the run-up to the 1980 elections, ZANU resorted to using ZANLA forces to campaign for ZANU mainly in the countryside where it was terrorizing civilians and coercing them to vote for ZANU or risk another war. The army continued to be politicized as ZANU used them as political commissars. They increasingly continued to be defenders of the ZANU rule. 

Mugabe deployed the army in Matabeleland and the Midlands region to deal with supporters of ZAPU under the pretext of dealing with ZAPU dissidents who wanted to remove the government. This led to the killing of over 20,000 people in what was termed the Gukurahundi. The army was now an instrument of Mugabe to maintain and return power. 

2000 land reform and the rise of the Movement for Democratic Change role of the army in thwarting political dissent.

At the turn of the new millennium as Zimbabwe’s economy continued on a downward spiral and Mugabe lost popularity after the emergency of the new party the movement for democratic change led by former trade unionist Morgan Richard Tsvangirai former secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade union (ZCTU). 

Mugabe will lose a 2000 referendum to amend the constitution as the people voted overwhelmingly NO to the proposed new constitution. Fearing a massive electoral loss in the forthcoming elections which were a few months away, Mugabe reacted by ordering the invasion of white-owned farms. War veterans and Soldiers led the land invasion and a violent crackdown on opposition members and the remaining white settler community who were being accused of bankrolling the newly formed MDC. 

What will follow will be a violent crackdown on the opposition supporters by the military and police as the army vowed that they would not salute anyone without liberation credentials even if they won. They claimed the Zimbabwean top job was a straight jacket fit for people who went to war only. Tsvangirai won the 2008 elections but was blocked from assuming power by the military men in Zimbabwe. 

November 2017 coup and the military consolidation

The succession battles within ZANU-PF grew increasingly hot in 2017 during the build-up to the ZANU-PF people’s annual conference. The battle to succeed Mugabe pitted the new blood in ZANU-PF known as the G-40. A group of young ZANU-PF members who had not gone to war against the old guard which was otherwise known as the Lacoste faction, had liberation war history. 

The old guard had a decrease in support from the grassroots as many grassroots party members were no longer resonating with the war chants. The Lacoste faction was being led by the then vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa. 

As it became clear that the Lacoste faction would not emerge victorious at the conference as most of its members were being purged. On 6 November a month away from the conference, Mnangagwa was dismissed from both party and government as the vice president and he flew into exile in South Africa. 

The old guard was losing, they had to act quickly. On 15 November, they rolled out military tanks to remove Mugabe via a coup which was later termed “military-assisted transition.” The military had removed the country’s leader and ushered in another one. The army emerged as kingmaker again.

 You can only rule if you have the military’s blessings once it expires so is your leadership. The army will move to replace civilians in the party and government organs. The army will thwart demonstrations on August 1, 2018, and January 2019 to preserve their political appointee. 

In conclusion, the army has played the “kingmaker” role several times in Zimbabwean politics. Without a clear strategy on how to deal with a politicized military, it will be difficult to take over power from ZANU-PF. We might be stuck with Mnangagwa for years if we do not have a proper strategy on how we can deal with the elephant in the room- which is the military. Some may extend hope to an internal explosion within the ZANU-PF party but it is interesting to see where it might come from. 

Is the Vice President ambitious enough or does he feel fulfilled by playing both the king-breaker and maker in 2017? Something he might feel that he has either equalized or surpassed Solomon Mujuru who had done the same during the liberation struggle- a man he dreaded a lot, who he had attempted to commit suicide fearing disciplinary measures after he had plagiarized a military academy test. A man he accused of bedding his then-wife in his bedroom and left a jacket with his name tag- a daring movie. It remains to be seen if the former general has more ambition than what he has done already.

If another element might arise within the military or ZANU-PF to challenge the status quo or if the opposition will mount a formidable challenge which looks less likely. However, what is to be noted is that the army and ZANU-PF as things stand operate as one entity. The army is heavily invested in civilian politics as they feel that they have the divine right to appoint who leads Zimbabwe. This is also influenced by the army’s economic interests. The top elites in the army have made significant business enterprises in the Zimbabwean economic sector which in most cases they have done so fraudulently. A change in government threatened their business empire. 

 Elections are no longer a solution in Zimbabwe as has over the years failed to lead to the transfer of power no matter how popular the opposition could be. What needs to be done, is the answer I don’t have at the moment but it is the question we must answer as a collective people.

Youngerson Matete is a pro-democracy and Human Rights activist, a student of Political Science. He is the founder of Project Vote 263, a youth-led initiative to foster inclusive participatory democracy in Zimbabwe. He writes in his own capacity. His views doesn't not represents any organisation.

Cell : +263 773 622 044

Email: youngmatete0@gmail.com/ director@projectvote263.org.zw