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Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga says he will not salute any candidate who beats President Robert Mugabe in the forthcoming elections amid reports that soldiers have been granted paid leave to campaign for Zanu PF in their rural homes.

Chiwenga joined the head of the Zimbabwe Prisons Service, Paradzai Zimondi, in declaring that they would not recognise former Finance Minister Simba Makoni and opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai if they won the 29 March elections.

Echoing similar threats he made with former commander Vitalis Zvinavashe in the run-up to the 2002 presidential elections, Chiwenga claimed Makoni and Tsvangirai were “sellouts”, without elaborating.

“Elections are coming and the army will not support or salute sell-outs and agents of the West before, during and after the presidential elections,” Chiwenga told The Standard in a telephone interview last week.

“We will not support anyone other than President Mugabe who has sacrificed a lot for the country.”

Pressed to comment on the role of the army in a democracy, Chiwenga responded angrily:

“Are you mad? What is wrong with the army supporting the President against the election of sellouts?”

A woman then took over the conversation on the phone and said: “We can come and take you and deal with you.” Then she hung up.

In remarks described by critics as being tantamount to scare-mongering ahead of 29 March, Zimondi told a pass-out parade of prison officers if Mugabe lost he would resign from his job to “defend” the farm he was allocated during the land reform programme.

A number of retired officers in the defence forces hold key positions in the government and in parastatals, most of whose performance continues to deteriorate under their stewardship.

Meanwhile, army sources have told The Standard that soldiers were recently instructed to take paid leave so they could go to their rural homes to help in the Zanu PF election campaign.

Critics of Zanu PF’s campaign strategy have attacked what they have called the “decisive role” of soldiers in ensuring that Mugabe wins, particularly in the setting up of bases in the rural constituencies.

It has been alleged that the soldiers have led party militia in intimidating the rural electorate to vote for Zanu PF.

“Those who were deployed were reminded that the hefty salary increments they received last month were part of the deal to campaign for Zanu PF,” said a soldier based at Brady Barracks in Bulawayo.

Last month the government sparked fury among civil servants when it awarded soldiers hefty pay increases, raising the average soldier’s pay to $1.3 billion from $300 million.

The deployment of soldiers in the rural areas comes amid reports the government has pulled out all the stops to improve the diet in the barracks, once reportedly hit by acute food shortages.

A monotonous diet of beans and cabbage was said to be boring the soldiers out of their enthusiasm for work.

But The Standard has established that the regular fare now features such sumptuous dishes as rice and chicken.

Army spokesperson, Colonel Samuel Tsatsi referred questions to Chiwenga when contacted for comment.

From allAfrica.com

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