Today, Kgalema Motlanthe Commission who was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to investigate the 1st August Post-Election Violence in Harare have released the Report on the Investigation today. However, what is vital before reading this report, is that the President has recently promoted the Commander behind the violence, this being Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who has gone from being a Brigadier-General to Major General in the Presidential Guard. Therefore, don’t expect much pain to befall the ones who did the crimes. As they are already vindicated.
With that in mind, lets take the gist from the report:
“The demonstrations which became riotous and caused extensive damage to property and injury had been incited, pre-planned and well organised by the MDC Alliance” (…) “Six (6) people died and thirty-five (35) were injured as a result of actions by the Military and the Police” (…) “The demonstrations started peacefully in the morning in front of Harvest House, MDC Alliance headquarters, and degenerated into violent protests as the demonstrators split and moved to HICC, ZEC Headquarters and ZANU PF headquarters (western side of the CBD) and ZANU PF Provincial Offices (eastern side of CBD) as the day progressed” (…) “The fact that the Police were severely depleted because of duties at polling stations throughout the country and that they were ill- equipped did not help the situation. As the demonstrations degenerated into a riot, the Police were overwhelmed” (…) “The deployment could only have been avoided if the Police were adequately experienced, better equipped, sufficient in numbers and more suitably organised. While recognising that in the circumstances, the deployment was unavoidable, the Commission considers that it would have been preferable if the Police had been able to deal with the situation on their own” (…) “However, the use of live ammunition directed at people especially when they were fleeing was clearly unjustified and disproportionate” (…) “The use of sjamboks, baton sticks and rifle butts to assault members of the public indiscriminately was also disproportionate” (…) “The Military should conduct an immediate and full audit of its standing orders and procedures for engagement in law and order enforcement operations, including riot control, in order to identify in an appropriate public report the lessons learnt and the tailored safeguards and targeted training to be undertaken to prevent any ill-discipline that could lead to loss of life and injury in the future on the part of its forces in highly politicised, tense, and stressful situations of crowd control. This would include the firing of warning shots not in accordance with its standing operational procedures” (…) “Those particular members of the Military and the Police found to have been in breach of their professional duties and discipline on the 1st of August 2018 should be identified as soon as possible for internal investigations and appropriate sanction, which should include hearing from the victims and their families for impact assessment and to provide the necessary compensation” (Mothlanthe Commission, 2018).
This is what I see as vital information from the Report. It really says the gist. This is the parts that says what is needed to know. It is the basic basis of what happen on the 1st August 2018. As there was violence and acts from authorities.
What I found striking was this:
The whole demonstrations started peaceful, but when the police got worried about the situation, they called in the Police and Army got into it. Than, the stirring of the pot and the violence got into play. The Police is ill-disciplined and the Army wasn’t following protocol concerning use of warning shots or live-bullets. They we’re acts who was disproportionate, they acted violently against the civilians who was not armed. That is the reality. The Commission has found the army and police acting vile. They we’re attempting to quell the demonstrations, but they seemed also to amplified it. That is how you can look into the report and understand it.
What is also special about the Commission is the blame on the MDC and the speeches there, but they didn’t say anything about the President or what he had done until the polls. Only that both parties had direct inflammatory speech. It wasn’t only Chamisa who spoke, it was also Mnangagwa too. That is if you follow the campaign, you could see it too. The hostility wasn’t a one-way street, there was to parties fueling this, but the Commission was ONE-SIDED on this manner. As they pledges in the beginning that the President is on the journey to inclusive and reconciliation of the Republic in general.
Nevertheless, the Report is saying something important that the Police and Military needs to investigate the ones behind the violence and harmed the public. That is hard to believe it will happen, as the Commander gotten higher ranks recently. This is a gift of pleasure, as the President offers a favor for favor. The President wants loyalty and therefore, giving him a higher position. That is the reality and why I don’t trust the Army to look into itself. Unless, the Operation Restore Legacy starts to work backwards and shots the Vice-President in his leg. But that will not happen. We all know that, only the naive believing that Mnangagwa do something after promoting the Commander behind the violence.
Pretty please, lets Pimpin’ Curly talk the business, because everyone else knows how this goes. ZANU-PF will not target itselt. They are only targeting the opposition and the men who stands in their way. Peace.
Reference:
Mothlanthe Commission – ‘ REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE 1ST OF AUGUST 2018 POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE’ 18.12.2018
MinBane 