FOUR years ago on this day, 1 August, Zimbabwean soldiers killed six civilians on the streets of Harare who were impatient and protesting that the election results announcement was being delayed.
Soldiers shooting protesters in the back
Although the elections management body was still within its four days mandate to announce the winner, some opposition MDC Alliance supporters took to the streets to protest, but some went back home injured and six others returned back in coffins and caskets.
Under the command of Brigadier-General Anselem Sanyatwe, soldiers were deployed to contain the situation. They did so by firing live ammunition at fleeing and terrified civilians who happened to be in the city centre at the time.
When the smoke cleared, the six dead lay in pools of blood before the cameras of the international media who had gathered to report on the polls.
The main opposition CCC, which came out of the MDC A after a factional fight, has remembered the victims of the shooting while demanding justice to be served. CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere says the tragedy of the shootings is that the Mnangagwa administration was unwilling to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book.
‘We demand justice’ – CCC
“Today marks 4 years since the 1 August shootings. Six citizens were murdered in cold blood by soldiers while more than 60 were badly injured in a gruesome episode of post-election violence following the disputed 2018 harmonized elections,” she said.
Mahere added: “The violence on 1 August 2018 followed the disputed 30 July elections. Protesters were demanding the immediate release of election results by ZEC. This brings to the fore the need for electoral reforms including a credible results management system.
During the 1 August violence, a uniformed soldier shot Sylvia Maposa in the back between her shoulders as she was heading home from work in Harare late in the afternoon. Maposa, who was not among the protesters, collapsed and died on the spot.
CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere “The tragedy of the 1 August 2018 shootings is that no one responsible for the bloodshed has been held to account for these brutal killings. None of the recommendations made by the Motlanthe Commission have been implemented. We demand justice.”
To encourage investment, Mnangagwa had intended to show a commitment to democracy through an election in July 2018 which would pass as halfway respectable. He almost succeeded, until violent protesters took to the streets of Harare demanding the immediate release of the election results.
Mnangagwa then appointed seven commissioners who would be required, in part, to investigate his own conduct. To give the commission a veneer of respectability, four of the seven were from outside Zimbabwe.
The commission was headed by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe. Critics say the the commission’s task was damage control given that among the commissioners of well-known Zanu PF member Professor Charity Manyeruke (now Ambassador to Rwanda).
Also curious was the fact that one of the terms of reference of the commission was to determine what ‘necessitated’ the deployment of soldiers thus foreclosing inquiry into a crucial aspect of who deployed the soldiers.
Who ordered the army into the streets?
Zimbabweans wanted to know who was to blame for the deployment of the armed soldiers against civilians, presenting the administration with a dilemma. If government admitted that this was the decision of the defence minister and former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Constantino Chiwenga, who had led the November 2017 ‘coup’ that brought Mnangagwa to power, this would be to throw an important ally under the bus.
Under Zimbabwe’s new constitution the military can only be deployed for public order purposes with the authority of the president. Without such authority, Chiwenga’s decision would have been unlawful. If presidential authority had been given, the blood of the six was on Mnangagwa’s hands.
Mnangagwa remained silent on the question of authorisation and the matter has largely been swept under the carpet ever since.
‘Overwhelming video evidence’ of Chamisa inciting violence
Meanwhile, the result of the commission enquiry also appeared tailor-made to Mnangagwa’s requirements. The report commences by what is called ‘overwhelming video evidence’ of then MDC A leader Nelson Chamisa inciting violence.
The report references a video of a rural rally addressed by Chamisa and, presumably, this video was selected as being the most illustrative. Other recommendations of the commission include that the perpetrators of crimes on 1 August be prosecuted. In the context of the report, this refers to the demonstrators who destroyed property. And the soldiers who killed people? They are to be regarded as in ‘breach of discipline’, to be identified by ‘internal military processes’ and ‘sanctioned’.
Even this much has not happened.
Before 1 August 2018, such was the eagerness of the western international community to see an end to the Zimbabwe crisis that it appeared prepared to accept cosmetic changes intended to signal a move towards reform. No more.
The United States has ignored the commission’s actual recommendations, and demanded implementation of the report through the criminal prosecution of the soldiers responsible for the killing.
To mark the first anniversary of the shooting in 2019, and in the absence of any action by the Government of Zimbabwe, the US Government slapped a travel ban on Sanyatwe who commanded the soldiers.
