via Minister grilled over Afcon deployments – DailyNews Live 30 January 2015
HARARE – Members of Parliament yesterday grilled Sydney Sekeramayi, minister of Defence over the deployment of members of the defence forces to Equatorial Guinea without their approval.
The matter was raised by MDC Senator Watch Sibanda in the Senate chamber during the ministers’ question time.
Zimbabwe deployed soldiers, police and intelligence officers to the West African nation early this year to provide security during the on-going Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
“I seek clarification on the members of defence forces who were deployed to do duty in Equatorial Guinea, when we know that Parliament is supposed to give green light for that to happen, who authorised the deployment?”asked Sibanda.
Sekeramayi defended the deployment arguing that soldiers had not gone to war but were on a peace-keeping mission to maintain peace and order during the football African Cup of Nations tournament.
“We do not need Parliament permission if we are sending soldiers on a peace-keeping mission as what we did when we deployed them to Equatorial Guinea,”said Sekeramayi.
“We were asked by the Guinea government to help them with soldiers to keep peace during the tournament. The expertise of our soldiers is needed in African Union (AU) and that is why we send them,” said Sekeramayi.
The matter was also raised in the national assembly on Wednesday by MDC MP for Harare West constituency Jessie Majome who said it was unconstitutional and a waste of tax payers’ money.
She said the law further provided that when the country dispatches its troops outside the country like it did to Equatorial Guinea, it should be ratified by Parliament within a specified period.
“According to the constitution, the army can only be deployed to foreign nations under four circumstances, the first one being on United Nations (UN) or AU duty or any other constitutionally-organised body where Zimbabwe is a member of; secondly, when the country is defending its interest in the foreign territory,”said Majome.
“Three, when the country is going to help a member state to defend its territory and upon request. And lastly, Madam Speaker, the law provides that the military may be deployed to foreign land when it is going to defend its territorial sovereignty. But the question is, the deployment of the soldiers in Equatorial Guinea does it fit in any of the said categories?” Majome queried.
COMMENTS
Mugabe is a war monger. Check at Zimbabwe’s army involvement in war situations in Africa during our first two decades of independence. Now that he has taken over as AU chair, our army will be all over conflict zones in the continent even where the benefits for the country would be uncertain. A ‘army for hire tag’ has been hanged on our soldiers. It has been the norm for Mugabe to defy parliamentary rules when deploying soldiers to war zones. It is sad if it is truely at tax payers’ expense.
An army kept occupied abroad is less of a threat at home.