Zimbabwe State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure against the opposition, threatening to “use guns” to thwart anti-government protests and warning opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai he will pay with his life if he called such protests.
Mutasa, in charge of the government’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation and probably the most powerful of President Mugabe’s lieutenants, boasted that Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party had “shed blood before” to free Zimbabwe from colonialism.
The security minister, who was responding to questions by ZimOnline on whether the government would permit peaceful protests by the opposition, said Tsvangirai and the MDC party would “pay dearly” if they tried to take to the streets against Mugabe’s government.
Mutasa said: “Anyone, particularly Tsvangirai, who threatens peace and stability in this country will get capital punishment … and we mean it. We maintain organs of national security such as the army to protect the stability and integrity of our country. They will be instructed to use all resources at their disposal, including guns [to stop protests].”
In a most chilling reminder to the opposition, Mutasa added: “We have shed blood before to achieve independence. So let no one be fooled that we will fold our arms while they [the opposition] cause mayhem and violence to remove democratically elected governments. They will pay, and pay dearly.”
Tsvangirai, who says the MDC has lost faith in elections as a democratic tool to change the government because Mugabe always rigs polls, has vowed to call mass anti-government protests this winter to force the government to accept a new and democratic Constitution that would ensure free and fair polls.
The MDC leader last Sunday told thousands of supporters at a rally in Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo that he was ready to lead from the front in street protests to force Mugabe to accept democracy, even if it could lead to his own death.
The rally, attended by more than 5Â 000 supporters, was the fourth the opposition leader has held in major cities in the last two weeks to mobilise Zimbabweans for mass anti-government protests, the dates of which he has not yet announced.
Mutasa’s outburst is the latest in a series of similarly strongly worded threats by the government against Tsvangirai and the MDC, with Mugabe having warned the opposition leader last month that he would be “dicing with death” if he tried to instigate a mass revolt against the government.
The security minister last month threatened to “physically eliminate” opposition leaders if they attempted to remove the government from power through mass protests.
Zimbabwe has been on edge since Tsvangirai and his MDC party resolved at a congress last month that they would no longer limit themselves to elections but would use what they called “people power” to pressure Mugabe to embrace democracy.
Political analysts say the MDC, which enjoys strong support in urban areas, is best placed to organise streets protests against the government. But they also caution that the opposition party is at the moment too weakened to confront the government and its army in the streets after it split into two rival political parties last year.
Besides the Tsvangirai-led MDC — which is widely seen as the main rival to Mugabe and Zanu-PF — there is another faction of the opposition party that is led by former student activist Arthur Mutambara.
Mugabe beefs up security forces
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) will this month recruit 5Â 000 more soldiers to beef up its numbers, slashed in the past few years by a significant 25% to between 30Â 000 and 35Â 000 fighting men and women.
Authoritative sources told ZimOnline the recruitment exercise — which comes as the MDC prepares for mass anti-government protests in the winter — is scheduled to take place on April 26 at centres in Mashonaland West province, Bulawayo, Mutare and Inkomo Barracks, near Harare.
Minister of Defence Sydney Sekeramayi refused to discuss the matter, referring questions to ZNA director of public relations, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Tsatsi. The colonel was on Monday unable to immediately respond to written questions sent to him at his request.
But senior officers at the army’s KG VI headquarters said signals were sent out in the last two weeks to all barracks to prepare for the recruitments.
“The recruitment of ordinary soldiers will coincide with that of regular officer cadets to undergo an 18-month training programme at the Zimbabwe Military Academy in Gweru. The deadline for officer cadet training was last Wednesday,” said a ZNA officer, who cannot not be named because he is not authorised to speak to the press.
The move to employ more soldiers — which appears a reversal of the government’s defence policy in recent years which has leaned more towards cutting back the ZNA — follows threats by Mugabe to crush any mass protests against his government.
Mugabe, who has in the past deployed soldiers and police to crush streets protests, has told Tsvangirai that mass protests could lead to.
Political analyst and chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) pro-democracy civic alliance Lovemore Madhuku said he was not surprised by reports of fresh moves to hire more soldiers, which he said was most probably meant to “intimidate citizens and fill them with fear”.
Madhuku, whose NCA campaigns for a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe, cautioned that Mugabe and his government were already prepared with or without recruiting more soldiers to deal with the threatened mass action.
He said: “Let’s not be fooled because this regime is always prepared to deal with such issues as mass action. The regime is always talking tough.” — ZimOnline