Zimbabwe’s military took over ZBC the state broadcaster in the early morning of 15 November 2017 and assured the nation that President Mugabe was safe in a statement by Deputy Commander of the Army Major Brigadier-General Sibusiso Moyo.
This follows a power struggle over the successor of Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old President Mugabe who fired his vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa on November 6 at the instigation of his wife Grace Mugabe.
In a rare statement, Zimbabwe’s army chief General Constantino Chiwenga warned the ruling Zanu PF on November 13 that the military would intervene if the infighting continues.
Press statement by Major Brigadier-General Sibusiso Moyo, the Deputy Commander of the Zimbabwe’s National Army
We wish to assure the nation that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and commander in chief of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade RG Mugabe, and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.
We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
To both our people and the world beyond our borders, we wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government, what the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country, which if not addressed may result in violent conflict
“As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. To the civil servants, as you are aware, there is a plan by the same people to influence the current purging that is taking place in the political sphere to the civil service. We are against that act of injustice and we intend to protect every one of you against that
To the judiciary, the measures underway are intended to assure that as an independent arm of the state you are able to exercise your independent authority without fear of being obstructed
At 93, President Mugabe was the world’s oldest head of state and Africa’s longest-serving president.
Despite his advanced age, the nonagenarian was determined to be the presidential candidate for Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu PF, in the upcoming 2018 general elections.
