Generals ‘not obliged’ to salute Tsvangirai

HARARE, Thursday

Zimbabwe’s Defence Minister says army generals are not obliged to salute Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai despite the power sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe.

The generals who include army commander General Constantine Chiwenga, police chief Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and air force commander Air Vice Marshal Perence Shiri have been avoiding an encounter with the Prime Minister since he agreed to join the unity government in February.

According to the September 15 power sharing agreement, Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai share executive powers putting them at par.

But there are persistent rumours that the generals who were reported to have seized control of all government operations when Zimbabwe ran without a government for most of last year after disputed elections, are opposed to the coalition.

Not legally obliged

Defence Minister, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa, a strong ally of President Mugabe told parliament the service chiefs were not legally obliged to salute any person outside their military structures.

But he said there might be a moral obligation to salute senior civilians in the country, which includes the Prime Minister.

He was responding to a question from an MP from Mr Tsvangirai’s party on why service chiefs had not attended the Prime Minister’s swearing in and whether they would salute him.

Mr Mnangagwa said President Mugabe was being saluted by service chiefs and their subordinates because he was the commander in chief of the army.

“There are two positions: the legal and the civil position. At law, no officer will commit any offence for not saluting a person who is not in the military structure, but morally they should salute senior members of society,” he said. Zimbabwe’s uncomfortable coalition has been rocked by power struggles from the day it was inaugurated.

Last week, Mr Mugabe’s loyalists accused Mr Tsvangirai of trying to usurp the veteran leader’s powers by trying to change rules guiding operations of Cabinet.

The parties have also been fighting for the control of cabinet portfolios amid accusations Mr Mugabe wants to unilaterally allocate key portfolios of information and communication to his allies.

The infighting is also reflected in the state media which now refers to Mr Mugabe as head of state and government and commander in chief of the army much to the chagrin of Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC.