In July 2010 General Stanely McChrystal was relieved of his duties as the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. This followed the publication a no-holds barred interview that he had granted to Rolling Stone magazine writer Michael Hastings. In the wide-ranging interview published in an article entitled The Runaway General, McChrystal had stepped the line, criticizing the American civilian leadership and questioning Obama’s capabilities in executing the Afghan military mission. The publication of the interview caused so much embarrassment at the Pentagon and the White House that Obama was left with no choice but to fire the man he had appointed immediately after he had entered the Oval office.
Six months ago The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper published excerpts of an interview of then Brigadier General Douglas Nikayaramba by political writer Faith Zaba. In the interview the General spoke like a ZANU (PF) party commissar raising a raft of political points ranging from his assessment of the inclusive government, which he branded as a failure, defending the presence of military personnel in rural communities, expressed his condescending views on Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC and gave his own assessment of ZANU (PF)’s performance in the 2008 elections, which he said was poor because the party had imposed candidates on constituents. In the same interview he called for elections to be held immediately arguing that the inclusive government had negatively affected military operations. He made the bold declaration that ‘I am in ZANU (PF) and ZANU (PF) is in me’.
Nyikayaramba’s political statements caused a huge political stink. MDC legislator Settlement Chikwinya called for disciplinary action to be taken against the General. In a country where there is heated debate on the efficacy of security sector reform as a precondition for democratisation, many pointed to Nyikayaramba’s political statements as justification for realignment of the security sector. In an obvious reference to Nyikayaramba and his ilk, Morgan Tsvangirai told a party rally in Gweru that he was challenging those in the military bent on making political pronouncements to remove the army uniform and face him in the political battlefield. Nyikayaramba was unperturbed. He even responded by firing another salvo at Tsvangirai, calling him a ‘national security threat rather than a political one’.
Unlike General McChrystal, Nyikayaramba’s political mumblings have not cost him his job. In fact President Mugabe has handed him a cushy job promoting him to the rank of Major General. He will move from his Mutare base to become Chief of Staff Quartermaster at the Zimbabwe Defense Forces headquarters. He will obviously get a better car, a house in the leafy suburbs, another farm of his choice, and several other perks associated with being part of the military elite.
Many in a country where civil-military relations have gradually deteriorated over the years have received news of Nyikayaramba’s promotion with trepidation. They perceive it as part of Mugabe’s electoral grand plan. Without a doubt Nyikayaramba’s has been rewarded for his spirited support for Mugabe whose legitimacy has become increasingly questionable both within and outside ZANU (PF). Defense Minister Emerson Mnangangwa seemed to be at pains to justify Nyikayaramba’s promotion. He was quoted as having said there are many men and women with similar experience and qualifications to Nyikayaramba’s who had not been promoted because they had not worked as hard as he had. That sounded like a lame justification. There is nothing extraordinary that Nyikayaramba has done in the recent past. He has not distinguished himself in any battle or performed any act of extreme bravery in defense of country and flag. All he has done is issue reckless political statements in contravention of the Defense Act.
The public has lost confidence in the impartiality of some of the security chiefs. They have become deeply involved in politics and have repeatedly made partisan political pronouncements that have unnerved ZANU (PF)’s political opponents. In the build up to the 2002 Presidential Election, the first stern test of Mugabe’s tenacity by Morgan Tsvangirai, the Joint Operations Command (JOC), a Soviet style outfit comprising heads of the state security agents, shocked the nation by issuing a public statement declaring that they would not salute anyone without liberation war credentials, a clear reference to Tsvangirai who did not fight in the guerilla war. Several rehearsed and impromptu political statements in which senior members of the security establishment have denigrated Tsvangirai as a ‘house nigger’ and ‘puppet of the West’ have followed this.
Professional soldiers must have been bewildered by Nyikayaramba’s promotion. The message that Mnangagwa and Mugabe seem to be sending is that by dabbling in partisan politics soldiers will earn themselves more stripes. My fear is that we will have more and more of the men in uniform making bold political statements in support of Mugabe and ZANU (PF) in order to earn promotions. There is a litany of cases to support the view that those that sing the loudest in praise of Mugabe and ZANU (PF) will be promoted. Others have been rewarded for delivering electoral victory to Mugabe by hook and crook. ZANU (PF) opponents cried foul when Justice George Chiweshe was promoted to the post of Judge President after controversially heading a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) whose integrity was tainted by its failure to release the 2008 general election results on time and its reluctance to condemn a violent presidential run-off election campaign by ZANU (PF). Many will remember Chiweshe bolting out of a local hotel having been accosted by a troupe of local and international journalists who were demanding results of the elections.
The 2008 presidential election run-off campaign was so militarized that some have called it a ‘coup by stealth’ and there is justifiable concern that Mugabe and a hardline clique within the party and the security establishment is mulling a similar campaign. Nyikayaramba’s promotion bolsters that suspicion. Mugabe and his henchmen have already sent a strong signal that they want to radically push for an election this year following the December 2011 Bulawayo ZANU (PF) conference. They are acutely aware that winning a free and fair election is near impossible. Thankfully they can count on the likes of General Nyikayaramba to deliver an election victory to Mugabe.
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