Army general Vitalis Zvinavashe dies
Retired army general Vitalis Zvinavashe has died.
Government sources said that Zvinavashe died on Monday at Manyame Military Hospital.
Walter Mzembi, the MP for Masvingo South (Zanu PF) confirmed the death.
As Lieutenant General, he became the first commander of the unified Zimbabwe Defence Forces, with the commanders of both the Army and the Air force falling under his command. Following his retirement in December 2003, General Constantine Chiwenga succeeded him to the post.
In 2002, Zvinavashe led Zimbabwe’s military chiefs to declare that they would only back leaders who fought in the country’s wars of liberation, dealing a fresh blow to the opposition presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai.
“Any change designed to reverse the gains of this revolution will not be supported,” said Zinavashe.
Zvinavashe soon broke ranks with hardliners in the ZANU PF party in 2008, urging them to accept defeat in the elections while addressing fellow Zanu PF candidates at a counting centre in the province.
“There is no need to fight over these results. We must accept the reality that we have lost these elections to the MDC. What is important is to live together in peace, both losers and winners. We do not want violence in this area. We are relatives,” he said.
Zvinavashe is on record as having warned the party before the March 29 poll that Mugabe would cost them victory if he remained at the helm. He repeated his remarks, putting the blame for Zanu PF’s defeat on Mugabe’s doorstep.
‘Most of us lost these elections not because we are not popular in our constituencies. We lost these harmonised elections because of one man. People rejected us because we were campaigning for Mugabe. People in Masvingo have rejected him and we became collateral damage. There is no reason to fight with the MDC over this election. The real problem is that man not us.’
Zvinavashe lost to an MDC candidate in the constituency, Empire Makamure, and a recount ordered by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission under instructions from Zanu PF failed to overturn the result.
Posted by Wellington Chadehumbe
on March 10, 2009. Filed under Politics.
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