General Sibanda ask soldiers "to desist harassing citizen" - dressing iron fist in velvet glove N Garikai

“The Commander Zimbabwe National Army Lieutenant General Phillip Valerio Sibanda has called on the national army to be disciplined and to desist from harassing citizens,” reported Bulawayo 24.

“Lieutenant General Sibanda was addressing a pass out parade of 590 recruits at Battlefields in Mhondoro Ngezi.

“Discipline and patriotism are very essential in the military because of the extreme duties that the armed forces carry out, he told the recruits.”

The sheer hypocrisy of it all is astonishing! So, the General was aware that the Army has been harassing citizens. Of course, he was aware of the harassment and worse; after all he played his part in devious plans and in their ruthless execution!

General Valerio Sibanda is a senior member of the Joint Operation Command (JOC), the shadowy Junta cum Mafia cum Freemason that has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist all these last 37 years. He knows the small details of the 2008 Operation “Mavhotera papi” (Whom did you vote for), for example, in which the Army played a pivotal role in not just the harassment of civilians but in the beating, raping and murder of innocent people to force them to vote for Mugabe in the presidential run-off.

The now deposed Robert Mugabe publicly acknowledge and thank the war veterans and the security services top brass for the role they all played in restoring him back into State House when he had in fact lost the popular vote.

The full details of what role the top brass in the Army, Police, CIO and other organs of State are still to be properly investigated and documented but there can be no doubt that General Sibanda play a role. It is rich therefore for him to now be talking of discipline and patriotism when the red alert of the military coup he was involved is still bright red!

There is talk that General Sibanda will be appointed one of the two VPs, his reward for carrying out his fair share of the Junta’s mindless barbarism, debauchery and betrayal of the people and the ZDF uniform. Even if he does not get the VP post he is certainly one of the Zanu PF ruling elite, by virtue of his position in the Junta, who have profited from the wholesale looting by the Zanu PF dictatorship.

The Zanu PF dictatorship was thrilled and relieved to see the hundreds of thousands of ordinary civilians come out in the street in support of the military coup. The Mnangagwa faction’s worst fear was that the people should see the coup was just an internal matter in Zanu PF that does not resolve their real demand for meaningful democratic reforms to end the dictatorship itself.

Indeed, most people are only now coming round to realising that supporting the coup was but a foolish thing to do because President Mnangagwa and his gang have taken the support to mean the people are happy with the removal of Mugabe and that is all they have ever wanted.

General Sibanda’s hand of friendship to the citizens of Zimbabwe is just part of the charm-offensive by this Mnangagwa administration to get the people to forget that the cabal now in government is the same dictatorship, except for the removal of Mugabe to replace him with Mnangagwa, that has looted, rigged elections and ruthlessly oppressed them.

The country’s political temperature is already hotting up and as the people’s good will after the coup is freckle, it is starts to wear-off already. Zanu PF’s prospect of winning next year’s election may be looking good now, hence the regime’s charm offensive, but in three or four months’ times things will be very different. Will General Sibanda still be calling for the Army not to harass the citizens and allow the country to finally have its first free, fair and credible elections? Knowing fully well that should Zanu PF be booted out of office, he too will lose his share of the loot from Marange and, worse, have his dark past uncovered for all to see!

The Zanu PF dictatorship is the same corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and ruthlessly oppressive juggernaut the people of Zimbabwe have known these last 37 years. The change of from one dictator, Mugabe, for another, Mnangagwa, has not change the dictatorship itself. The removal of Mugabe has, at best, allowed key players in the Zanu PF dictatorship to mount a charm-offensive to fool the naïve and gullible into believing the ruthless Zanu PF dictatorship of Mugabe days died with the demise of the old tyrant.

The Zanu PF charm-offensive has successfully dressed the Zanu PF iron fist in a velvet glove. With not even one democratic reform in place, the iron fist is still there, as those foolish enough to expect next year’s election will be free, fair and credible, will soon learn. When Zanu PF’s hold on power is under serious threat General Sibanda may still continue to publicly call for the Army not to harass civilians but in private order the soldiers to show no mercy to all those threatening regime change. An iron fist in a velvet glove is just as deadly as a bare-knuckle iron fist; the glove is a disguise and not a cushion!