President Robert Mugabe today promoted the Zimbabwe Electoral (ZEC) Commission Chairman and two members of the Joint Operation Command.
Mugabe, who addressed the country’s military at a ceremony at a sports stadium in Harare to mark Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day (ZDF), also publicly thanked his strongest international ally, China, for its continued support to the armed forces.
“We remain grateful to the People’s Republic of China for facilitating the procurement of military clothing material which has improved the uniforms of officers in the ZDF,” he said.
Addressing the same gathering, Defence Minister Sen.Sydney Sekeramayi announced that Mugabe had promoted Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairman George Chiweshe from to the rank of major general (retired).
Chiweshe, a trained lawyer, was a former brigadier general in the army but retired from the military to join the High Court as a judge.
He left the bench when he was appointed head of the ZEC that runs elections in the country. The ZEC was accused of tampering with figures in the March 29 presidential election to deny Tsvangirai an outright victory over Mugabe, paving the way for a second round run-off election won by Mugabe on June 27.
Sekeramayi said also promoted to the rank of major general were retired brigadier generals Happyton Bonyongwe and Paradzai Zimondi both members of the joint Operations Command.
Bonyongwe heads the government’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation that is accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing MDC activists during the run-up to the June run-off election.
Zimondi heads the country’s prison service and is infamous for declaring ahead of the March elections that he would not salute Tsvangirai if the MDC leader defeated Mugabe.
Also promoted to major general was Engelbert Rugeje, a serving member of the army who masterminded violence against the MDC in the southern Masvingo province ahead of the June vote.
The timing of the promotions is likely to heighten tensions during the next round of talks later this afternoon.
Additional reporting by ZimOnline
You can see now why we did not get our results from Chiweshe. Mugabe is now thanking him for the good work he did for rigging the elections.No need to talk with these people they are now promoting each other.
Tsvangirai must not concede to the pressure exerted to him by Mugabe and Mutambara. He must let Mugabe and Mutambara rule Zimbabwe, and we will see how far they will go, with an inflation of 49 million percent. Mugabe is an 84 year old senile despot who lives in an imaginary in which Britain wants to recolonise Zimbabwe. And his idiots and compatriots in ZANU believe that too. I wonder how and why Britain, out of all its former colonies, would want to recolonise Zimbabwe. Ghana became independent in 1958. It’s a very rich and strategic country, but alas, the British never bothered to recolonise it. Same with Nigeria (which has OIL for that matter) but it has not been recolonised. Mugabe is preoccupied with recolonisation and liberating Zimbabwe, just as his dead friend Kamuzu Banda was obsessed with breaking Malawi from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Those who knew him closely say even on his death bed he spoke about the Federation (that Malawi would never be part of a Federation again. He was obsessed with Roy Welensky, the Federal PM just as Mugabe is obsessed with Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and the British. I think he suffers from a post-traumatic disorder caused by the bush war. Instead of going down with Zimbabwe, this man must seek proper counselling and treatment, and leave Zimbabwe to younger generations who have a Plan B for the economy and way forward.
This is the most fragrant violation of power. In what capacity is Bob promoting these people. He is not the president of the country. What we have is pay back for rigging, cheating and murdering. Sure Bob has now gone bongus upstairs. Tsvangison get out of Rainbow Towers now.
Mutambara is a sellout …
CONGRADULATIONS ON YOUR GALLANT EFFORTS-THOSE WHO STAND IN DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY WILL BE REWARDED.THOSE WHO DO NOT RESPECT OUR FALLEN HEROES SHALL BE MADE TO PAY-MORGAN DISRESPECTED OUR CMDES BY NOT ATTENDING HEROES DAY. HE CHOSE TO WORK IN MINES WHILE OTHERS SUFFERED TO FREE HIS STINKY ARSE FROM THE SMITH REGIME-THE SAME PEOPLE HE NOW GOES TO BED WITH IN THE NAME OF REGIME CHANGE. WHY DID HE NOT HAVE THIS COURAGE DURING THE WAR? HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A COWARD. HIDING IN EMBASSIES-WE THE ZANU PF SUPPORTERS -THE REAL ZIM PATRIOTS WILL MAKE YOUR STAY IN GVT A MISERABLE AFFAIR SHOULD YOU BE FORCED ON US.
WHY DOES MORGAN WANT ALL THE POWER? WHY SHOULD WE TRUST HIM? HE HAS A DIRTY BACKGROUND AND PLEASE MUGABE STAND FIRM ….WE ARE BEHIND YOU 100%. THAT MONKEY MORGAN WILL ABUSE HIS POWERS IF YOU ALLOW HIM TO BE PRESIDENT.NO ONE WON THE MARCH ELECTION OUTRIGHT SO A RUN OFF WAS NECESSARY-MORGAN PULLED OUT WITH DAYS TO GO SO THAT WAS HIS PROBLEM NOW HE CANT BE GIVEN THE PRESIDENCY ON A PLATTER. ZIMBABWE YAKAUYA KANI WASINGAFUNGIRE WACHA MHANYA WAPAMBI WEPFUMI-GIDI ISHASHA ZVESHUA -GIDI RINOTONGA ZVESHUWA.
IF I SEE ANY TSWANA PEACEKEEPERS IN ZIMBABWE IN THE NEAR FUTURE I WILL SHOOT TO KILL- I HATE THOSE MONKEYS. NOW MORGAN ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF HIS MASTERS HAS WALKED OUT OF THE TALKS AGAIN AT THE LAST MINUTE-I NEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. IF HE THINKS HE WILL BENEFIT FROM IT THEN HE BETTER THINK AGAIN. I FEEL SORRY FOR MDC SUPPORTERS WHO DONT EVEN KNOW WHICH WAY MORGAN WILL GO NEXT AS IT IS ALL DECIDED BY HIS BOSSES ABROAD. BUT SOMEHOW THE SUPPORTERS ALWAYS ACCEPT HIS DECISIONS-HE OWNS THESE PEOPLE LIKE ITS SOME CULT ORGANISATION.
MUCHA****-KUTEYERA BOFU MUSANGO.MORGAN IMBWA. HOW MANY OF YOU WANTED HIM TO TAKE PART IN THE TALKS? VERY FEW-BUT HE DID IT ANYWAY-OUTCOME FAILED TALKS -SO WHY THE WASTE OF TIME? ONLY GOD KNOWS. THOSE BENNETS AND EDDY CROSSES MEANWHILE RUN THE SHOW IN THE BACKGROUND-EVEN MUTAMBARA IS NOW DISILLUSIONED WITH THE MDC-T. YOU ARE WELCOME TO THE PEOPLE’S PARTY ZANU PF. LETS GET OUR MAJORITY BACK IN PARLIAMENT. LEAVE THAT PUPPET WHO DISRESPECTS OUR HEROES ON HEROES DAY YET HE WEARS THE POPPY IN LONDON.
ZIMBABWE IS A FREE COUNTRY AND **** ALL THOSE WHO DONT APPRECIATE THE FREEDON WE HAVE. TO HELL WITH MORGAN -THE CLOSEST HE WILL EVER GET TO STATE HOUSE IS BY ATTENDING THE TALKS.OTHERWISE MUNANGAGWA IS NEXT-I DARE YOU TO CHALLENGE HIM.
Scarface,I think you will soon be elected (by your master BOB) to be a vice PM just like that sellout Mutambara.But people will one day say enough is enough and all ‘HELL’ will break loose.
Msathanyoko Scarface.
Can the Editor of this paper please block people like Scarface from using this site as a mouthpiece for hate and propaganda??? Metro- wake up! Your website is used by CIO to spread hate. Much as we applaud freemdom of Expression but this isn’t the freedom of expression that is expected in modern democracy. Block him, or else you will lose readership.
scarface uri***a yemunhu,i think uri hama yaBob and rite nw urikuenda kucollege through Bob’s sponsorship so you are afraid akawana chigaro pako papera manje ndikuudze bob is gone,kana achizviti akaita won the election wy did he agreed to seat for the talks,tell you wat he knows kuti hapachina chake this tym achekera,kachafira mumatalks kasekuru kako ndizvo,this tym kazobaya,mucha***a chete moko dzevanhu……..
Konhai nhai , a person like you scarface is what is causing Zimbabweans around the country & the world to be a laughing stock.Haunyare kutaura such crap.It goes to show how yor small mind operates.
Even if you have a point , no one is able to listen to you using such vulgar language , urimwana wani iwe. Saka tave kutambudzika kudai.Kana hupfu mumba dzevanhu hamuna , so why should people not speak up.
This is not a forum to insult each other ,we should be helping each other to find out ways of helping our leaders who are engaged in these talks with ideas on our way foward to get back Zimbabwe on its feet. I hope you understand and dont take that as an insult.
As for Metro , this is my first time visiting your website and I am totally disgusted in what you allow to go through this site , whats wrong ? You should be sensoring some of these comments for Gods sake.It now seems we are on bigbrother website and you are surely going to lose readers and your credibility.We can do better than this ,come on.