Zimbabwe army chief accused of 'treasonable misconduct' amid rift between president and military

General Constantino Chiwenga had said the army was prepared to 'step in' to end purges within political party 
Zimbabwe: Soldiers stand beside military vehicles just outside the country's capital Harare
Reuters

Zimbabwe’s army chief has been accused of “treasonable misconduct” by the country’s ruling party after he warned of a possible military intervention.

General Constantino Chiwenga challenged President Robert Mugabe over his sacking of the vice president, saying the army was prepared to “step in” and end purges within the Zanu-PF party.

The party said his comments were "clearly calculated to disturb national peace… [and] incite insurrection", the BBC reported.

In a statement, the party said it would never succumb to military threats, and that it "reaffirms the primacy of politics over the gun."

Zimbabwe: Army general Constantino Chiwenga, commander of the country's defence forces, has been accused of 'treasonable misconduct'
AFP/Getty Images

It comes after Mr Mugabe sacked Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week amid a row over the 93-year-old president's successor.

REUTERS

Mr Chiwenga’s unprecedented statement showed a sharp escalation of the ongoing rift between Mr Mugabe and the military.

Mr Mugabe has been in power since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980.

Amid the rising tensions, he chaired a weekly cabinet meeting in the capital on Tuesday.

Afterwards, ZANU-PF said it stood by the "primacy of politics over the gun" and accused Chiwenga of trying to disturb the country's peace and stability.

The army views his removal as part of a purge of independence-era figures to pave the way for Mugabe to hand power to his wife Grace Mugabe.

The 52-year-old has developed a strong following in the powerful youth wing of the ruling ZANU-PF party.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT