via Security chiefs face purging – The Zimbabwe Independent November 21, 2014
ZIMBABWE’S security service chiefs, particularly Central Intelligence Organisation Director General Happyton Bonyongwe, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Air Marshal Perence Shiri and Prisons Commissioner-General Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi, are facing purging as President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace, and her allies push for their removal.
Since her controversial entrance into Zanu PF mainstream politics, Grace and her allies have been aggressively pushing for the removal of senior government officials, party leaders and state apparatchiks associated with vice-president Joice Mujuru who is facing ouster at congress for allegedly plotting to topple or assassinate Mugabe.
In the clearest sign that security chiefs could be removed over the succession battle, Grace on Tuesday linked Bonyongwe to the Mujuru faction during her address to small and medium enterprises and cross-border traders at her Mazowe farm.
In her address, Grace said Mugabe had a meeting with Bonyongwe one day in the morning where he was told that she had an ear infection. Grace said Bonyongwe then called in the afternoon to ask how she was feeling while in the company of Mujuru, suggesting betrayal and dirty tricks. Sources said Chihuri, Zimondi and Shiri are also linked to the Mujuru faction consequently may not be secure, with some suggesting Bonyongwe may be replaced by presidential guard boss, Nhamo Sanyatwa.
While Bonyongwe’s deputy Aaron Nhepera, who is linked to Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction is also being considered the problem is that he is supposedly related to Mujuru.
Top government sources said Chihuri may be replaced by deputy commissioner-general Innocent Matibiri while other candidates are being considered to replace Zimondi and Shiri.
Sources also told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that Bonyongwe lost support after the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks revealed he was linked to former Finance minister Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn party as well as the late former army commander General Solomon Mujuru. He is also alleged to have been part of Zanu PF’s bhora musango (anyone but Mugabe) protest strategy during the 2008 elections.
In the election Mugabe suffered a shock defeat in the first round of polling before storming back through a brutal campaign. For the first time since Independence in 1980 Zanu PF surrendered its parliamentary majority.
COMMENTS
“Bhora Musango”
We are tired of speculations. We heard that Mujuru had tendered her resignation but nothing came of it . Just yesterday it was Chihuri again it came to nought. Why doesn’t the newspaper give us real news not rumours. They are rapidly losing credibility these newspapers
There is no smoke with out fie. For us all the right things are happening at the moment. Someone once said A SNAKE BITING ITSELF. May it continue.
Lets pretend for a moment Mugabe is Vladimir Lenin, does that then make Emmerson some kind of Josef Stalin, or are we just looking at some Juche idea, with the great Leader making way for the Dear Leader, except that the Dear Leader is too young so Mama Grace must hold fort for a while? When you start tinkering with the army you are asking for trouble. You cannot sleep peacefully at night with a disgruntled security force, or disgruntled generals. So what do you do? Do you call an emergency meeting, call all the security chiefs traitors and round them up to put them under arrest? This great former British colony has suddenly become a very interesting place. We are all watching
Mugabe screamed, there will be no reforms in the military. The fools in the military believe him. The man has to please his Chinese masters. Any negation to this pro Chinese move will be crushed.
It could not happen to nicer people, hope they re prosecuted for their alleged crimes. It will be fun to see Zimondi in one of his prison cells. Zanu trash
If this is true that Mujuru has so much support, then it is a fact that all efforts to purge Zanu of Mujuru supporters means the total collapse of the party. These security chiefs are same people who stategized and commandeered Zanu puff to election victories even though disputed. And if they really are plotting Mugabe’s down fall then they have respect and following in the junior ranks which would pursue these guys’ agendas. I see no way out of this for Mugabe and his hangers on.