Mnangagwa cracks whip in armed forces

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa retired four generals yesterday in the first major shakeup of the country’s armed forces since he took the high office.

The list includes the man who led a deadly crackdown against post-election protests in August last year.

The quartet’s removal also coincided with the absence abroad of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga – the retired general responsible for ousting former president Robert Mugabe in November 2017 and now widely viewed inside the country as the power behind Mnangagwa’s administration.

All four generals will be appointed to diplomatic posts overseas in line with Zimbabwe’s “critical global engagement and re-engagement strategy”, a government spokesperson said.

Mnangagwa has been under increasing pressure to take action over allegations of brutality by the security forces since a second crackdown last month, triggered by a sharp hike in fuel costs that he had decreed.

That violence led to accusations from opposition parties that Zimbabwe was reverting to the authoritarian rule that characterised much of Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

The most high-profile of the sidelined commanders was Major-General Anselem Sanyatwe, who led the presidential guard and drew widespread criticism for telling an inquiry into the post-election violence that one of his soldiers caught on video shooting into a crowd was firing into the air at a 45-degree angle.

The inquiry found that the military used “disproportionate and unjustified” force, including live ammunition, to quell the August 1 unrest.

Mnangagwa also retired Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, the defence forces inspector-general who had been largely absent from day-to day operations since November 2017.

Air Vice-Marshal Shebba Shumbayawonda and army chief of staff Major-General Martin Chedondo were the other two retired officials. –