Role of security services comes under spotlight
Grace Moyo
The ruling Zanu PF’s dalliance with the military and other security services has again come to the fore amid fears that Zimbabwe may once again produce another disputed poll outcome.
An internal memo penned by political commissar Mike Bimha addressing provincial chairpersons, revealed that the shadowy group Forever Associates of Zimbabwe and the military-linked Heritage will play a massive role in the voter registration inspection exercise that begins this week.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has since announced that the voter inspection exercise will start on May 27th and end on May 31st. It has also published the voter inspection centres around the country.
Forever Associates of Zimbabwe (FAZ) which is reportedly linked to the CIO, ran the ruling party’s primary elections and is involved in getting ruling party supporters registered in urban areas.
On its website, FAZ says, “Our story has its origins in 2010 when a small group of young students and members of faculty at Solusi University, an institution of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, came together to organise themselves to access business and empowerment opportunities then being offered under Government’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programme.”
Section 208, Sub-section 2 of the Zimbabwean constitution, which outlines the conduct of members of the security services, stipulates that it is illegal for the security sector to be partisan and to further the interest of a political party.
“Neither the security services nor any of their members may in the exercise of their functions act in a partisan manner, further the interests of any political party or cause, prejudice the lawful interests of any political party and that serving members of the security services must not be active members or office bearers of any political party or organization.”
However, Zimbabwe’s security services, most notably the military, have been heavily involved in the politics of the ruling Zanu PF party and in 2008 when then president Robert Mugabe’s leadership was under threat from the opposition, army generals came out and declared that only those with liberation credentials would be allowed to rule Zimbabwe. The military would later on in 2017 assist in the removal of Mugabe as president.
“For this programme to be a success, cell chairpersons and a team comprising cell main wing provincial chairperson, cell women’s league chairwoman, cell youth league chairperson and a war veteran at each polling station should be responsible and account for each member in the cell register,” Bimha said in the circular.
“Constituency experts, (FAZ) and Heritage Trust constituency coordinators will monitor and capture data at each polling station as well as submit daily reports to the command centres.”
“Central committee members, national constitutional assembly (NCA) Members of Parliament (MPs)-elect, sitting MPS and district coordinating committee (DCC) members, constituency experts from FAZ and Heritage liason officers will assist with supervision of the programmes throughout the constituency as well as motivating and directing lower party structures to go and inspect their names,” said Bimha.
At the time of Bimha’s release of the party memo last week, ZEC had not announced voter inspection dates but Bimha said the inspection would be happening soon, thereby fueling suspicions around the electoral body’s alleged special relationship with Zanu PF.
In 2019, President Mnangagwa said Zanu PF is everything in Zimbabwe and must be respected.
“We must be respected, we are majority, we are the government, we are the people, we are the army, we are the airforce, we are the police, we are everything you can think of, we determine who can do mining in Zimbabwe, we determine who can construct a railway line, we determine who can build a road in Zimbabwe, no other party can do so,” he said.
The President is expected to proclaim the election date by the end of May.
