Government officials on Wednesday sought to calm the public after two columns of army vehicles were spotted on the streets of Harare, sparking fears of a potential military coup.
Videos of the military vehicles quickly went viral, reigniting memories of the events of November 2017, when a similar display of military power led to the ousting of former President Robert Mugabe. This prompted widespread speculation about the possibility of a coup.
However, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ndavaningi “Nick” Mangwana, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and government spokesperson, assured the public that the movement of the military vehicles was part of pre-scheduled military drills. He said:
<blockquote>
There is a scheduled exercise to test equipment which is taking place today. Nothing to be concerned about.
</blockquote>
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman, George Charamba, reassured the public on Wednesday that the movement of military vehicles through Harare was part of routine exercises, aimed at ensuring the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ readiness.
Charamba said that the military was “going through the routine of ensuring all their battle systems are in tip-top state, keeping you secure and defended.”
The sight of twenty-one military vehicles, primarily multi-purpose armoured cars and tanks, on Borrowdale Road in one of Harare’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, startled motorists, who quickly posted videos online.
The convoy, which included a mix of military gear, was seen passing through the area, sparking a wave of speculation and concern.
According to <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-dismissed-as-routine-drill-by-government-spokesman/">ZimLive</a>, the military vehicles were moving from the 2 Infantry Brigade (formerly Cranborne Barracks) and were headed toward Alfida Barracks in Domboshava, home to the 2 Field Regiment.
The movement of such military assets in a civilian area drew comparisons to the 2017 military intervention that led to Mugabe’s ouster.
For many, the sight of these vehicles evoked memories of that unprecedented event, where the military played a pivotal role in a coup that changed the course of Zimbabwe’s leadership.
Once an unthinkable scenario, the notion of a military coup is now a topic openly discussed in Zimbabwe.

Pindula News

Government officials in Zimbabwe say that the army vehicles seen on the roads in Harare are just part of a routine exercise to test equipment and ensure the military is ready. This comes after people were worried that it might be a military coup like in 2017 when President Robert Mugabe was removed from power. President Mnangagwa's spokesman reassured the public that the military vehicles were not a threat. The convoy of military vehicles was moving between barracks for training exercises, and although it startled people, there is no need to worry about a coup happening.

Government Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of "Routine Drill"

UK-based Zimbabwean lawyer Brighton Mutebuka said that Zimbabwe has entered the age of “Vene” whose guiding ideology is transactional politics.
“Vene” is a Karanga (one of the Shona dialects) word literally translated as “the owners”, that is the owners of the country and its wealth, and is used derisively to describe Zimbabwe’s ruling elite. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Mutebuka <a href="https://x.com/BMutebuka/status/1723482386829070837?s=20">wrote</a>:
<blockquote>
The Age Of Vene – Zimbabwean Politics Redefined
a. Many Zimbabweans are in denial about the arrival of the age of Vene. This applies to both those in the ruling party &amp; the opposition movement.
b. Vene’s guiding “ideology” is transactional politics. They can work with anyone who submits to their rule.
c. The Rule of Law, Constitutions &amp; conventions are irrelevant. They apply to their rivals &amp; opponents &amp; not to them.
d. The law is what Vene says. If it’s inconvenient they either ignore or reinterpret it. If all fails they make new ones.
e. The people’s democratic preferences are not important. What is important is to control who counts, formally declares the winner, presides over complaints, arrests those who complain &amp; sends those who complain to jail!
f. Vene are so special that they even get to choose who “competes” against them and who to allocate state resources earmarked for successful contestants, so they can even create competition for their opponents as if it’s not hard enough to compete against them!
g. If Vene don’t like the outcome, they use proxies &amp; their control of levers of state power to change that outcome via recalls &amp; command by-elections until they get the outcome that they want.
h. Vene are not concerned with subtleties &amp; other diplomatic niceties. They like to project their power brazenly as a mark of unrivalled dominance over their subjects. They can mow you down in broad daylight.
i. So dazed and confused are Vene’s opponents by their antics that they subconsciously fall into the same trap over &amp; over again – and are then at the mercy of being repeatedly devoured by Vene, like generations of herds of helpless &amp; flailing Wildebeests attempting to cross the great Masai Mara River at the height of The Migration using the steep ends of the banks, only to end up between the jaws of the lying in wait Crocs!
j. Some critics will say, if you have a Constitution, structures, Voters Roll &amp; V11s &amp; you present these to courts you won’t be devoured. After you are devoured, some will say, only if you had stayed without those, maybe you wouldn’t have been devoured after all!
k. Yet others will say, if we create another united smart creature, we won’t be devoured. Others will also say, going into the River in great numbers to confront Crocs will hack it via the sheer weight of numbers!
l. All are in denial that the age of Vene is unlike any other. When it will finally dawn on them, it will be way too late! You see, Crocs have been perfecting their “art” for millions of years!
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwean Politics In The Age Of "Vene": Analysis By Brighton Mutebuka

Self-exiled former ZANU PF Politburo member Saviour Kasukuwere said that the late former president, Robert Mugabe, wanted to hand over power to his then deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, but the latter was pressured by power-hungry allies to stage a coup in November 2017.
Speaking at a discussion on the fifth anniversary of Mugabe’s ouster held under the topic, Back to the Future: A Review of the Post-November 2017 Coup in Zimbabwe which was hosted by Sapes Trust last Thursday, Kasukuwere also accused ZANU PF of failing to follow its own constitution. He said:
<blockquote>
Those colleagues were looking at the watch and wanted to taste power. Their ages were advancing and some were turning 79, others 80. If we had discussed this at the party we would not have been where we are now.
The appointment of Mnangagwa as then Vice-President was an indication that Mugabe wanted him to come in.
This was a discussion he had with us to say: ‘Let Mnangagwa come in and we can move forward.’ But ZANU PF being ZANU PF there was a secretive way of doing things which created problems for us up to this day.
We should have stuck to the constitutional process to challenge the President. The big problem in Zanu PF now is that nobody can stand up and say ‘I want to be a ZANU PF president.’
You can say that in exile, not in Zimbabwe. We should have stuck to the constitutional process to challenge the President.
</blockquote>
Kasukuwere also claimed that Mugabe wanted to resign after the 2002 elections “but factors took place that meant he remained in office until 2008.” He said:
<blockquote>
After the 2002 elections and thereafter, Mugabe intended to step down, but factors took place that meant he remained in office until 2008 when we had that humiliation with the MDC and he stayed up until 2013 when he won.
We thought after winning the election in 2013 he would put in place processes for a much more stable succession programme.
In 2017, he told me as his political commissar that he was stepping down. We were in Mexico attending a conference and we talked for about seven hours.
Still, it was too late because of the dynamics of the politics at that time.
</blockquote>
Kasukuwere was believed to be among members of a ZANU PF faction known as G40 which supported Mugabe’s wife, Grace, to take over power while Mnangagwa reportedly had the support of the military. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200003891/ed-attacked-over-coup">NewsDay</a>

Kasukuwere Claims Mugabe Wanted To Quit In 2002, ED Was His Preferred Successor

Businessman Trevor Ncube says Zimbabwe has regressed in many aspects since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took office on the back of the November 2017 military coup that overthrew the then president Robert Mugabe.
Speaking on the final day of the BizNews Conference in the Drakensberg, South Africa, about whether Zimbabwe presents an opportunity for investors or is currently a basket case, Ncube said Zimbabwe is gravitating towards the latter.
He accused the Mnangagwa administration of State capture which has weakened State institutions such as the police and judiciary, making them serve the interests of the elite.
Watch the video below for more:
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7-tQ4I0TTRU?start=270&amp;feature=oembed" title="Neighbourly advice on SA from Zimbabwe’s Trevor Ncube" width="640"></iframe></div>

<h4>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h4>

WATCH: Zimbabwe Worse Under Mnangagwa Than During Mugabe Era - Trevor Ncube

The Minister of Lands, Perrance Shiri has booted Patrick Zhuwao out of his 232 hectares farm in Zvimba district, Mashonaland West province.
The development was revealed in Zhuwao’s court papers which challenge the “unjustified” termination of the offer letter which he claims was given to him in 2004 under the government’s land reform programme. He said:
<blockquote>Despite all the challenges of vandalism of electrical infrastructural and theft, I have been farming to the best of my farm’s potential in the circumstances. Withdrawing my letter on the basis of unsubstantiated and spurious allegations without investigating the veracity of such allegations is a gross substantive
I am therefore not in breach of any of the terms and conditions attached to the offer. Since I was allocated the plot I have been farming tobacco, cereal crops, sunflower and poultry.</blockquote>
He added that Shiri sent him a notice of intention to withdraw the offer letter on 26 April 2019 stating that he had abandoned the farm since 2011.
Former president Mugabe’s nephew told the High Court that he responded to the notice but there was no response from Shiri who subsequently sent a notice of immediate termination of his contract on October 16.
Zhuwao is in exile since the 2017 military-assisted transition which resulted in Mugabe’s demise.
More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/patrick-zhuwaos-woes-mount-as-minister-shiri-kicks-him-out-of-farm/">New Zimbabwe</a>

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