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Zimbabwe's Army Commander Constantino Chiwenga Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP/Press Association Images

Tanks seen heading towards Harare after army chief's warning to Mugabe over 'treacherous shenanigans'

President Robert Mugabe’s decision to fire his vice president has led to political uncertainty.

SEVERAL TANKS HAVE been seen moving near the Zimbabwean capital Harare, a day after the army warned it could intervene over a purge of ruling party officials.

The sightings came as uncertainty swirls in Harare due to President Robert Mugabe’s decision to fire his vice president last week, prompting a warning of possible military intervention from the army chief.

The reason for the military presence was not immediately clear, but the vehicles may have been on routine manoeuvres.

The military spokesman was not available to comment.

“I saw a long convoy of military vehicles, including tanks, about an hour ago. I don’t know where they were heading,” a fruit seller near Westgate shopping centre, about 10 kilometres from central Harare, told AFP.

Another by-stander at the shopping centre also said she had seen the convoy, while other witnesses took to social media to confirm the reports.

Zimbabwe’s army chief General Constantino Chiwenga yesterday warned Mugabe to “stop” purges of the ruling Zanu-PF party after Mugabe abruptly sacked vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa last week.

“We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,” he said at a press conference.

Mnangagwa had clashed repeatedly with First Lady Grace Mugabe, 52, who is widely seen as vying with Mnangagwa to succeed her husband as president.

‘Upping the ante’ 

Mugabe, 93, is the world’s oldest head of state and has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, but his frail health has fuelled succession talk as potential replacements jockey for position.

“We very rarely see tanks on the roads. They don’t normally move around very much,” Derek Matyszak, an analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told AFP.

Chiwenga threw down the gauntlet to Mugabe … Mugabe hasn’t responded immediately but it would make sense for Chiwenga to organise some military manoeuvres to up the ante.

In speeches this year, Mugabe has often slurred his words, mumbled and paused for lengthy periods.

His long reign has been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, vote-rigging and economic collapse since land reforms in 2000.

The main opposition MDC party today called for civilian rule to be protected.

“No one wants to see a coup … If the army takes over that will be undesirable. It will bring democracy to a halt,” shadow defence minister Gift Chimanikire told AFP.

Zanu-PF’s influential youth league, which supports Grace Mugabe as a future president, said in a statement that army chief Chiwenga must not be allowed to choose Zimbabwe’s leaders.

Speculation has been rife in Harare that Mugabe could seek to remove Chiwenga, who is seen as an ally of ousted Mnangagwa.

© AFP 2017

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    Mute gowfc@yahoo.com W
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:22 PM

    Is Mugabe, who has ruled by the sword, about to be slain by it? I hope so – his polices have wrecked “The Garden of Africa”.

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    Mute Harry Whitehead
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:31 PM

    @gowfc@yahoo.com W: Hopefully he’ll go the way of Gaddafi. Bonus points if they also off that truly loathsome wife of his.

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    Mute Paul J. Redmond
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    Nov 14th 2017, 7:52 PM

    @gowfc@yahoo.com W: The tanks are 30 years overdue

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    Mute Vincent Sweeney
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    Nov 14th 2017, 8:22 PM

    @Harry Whitehead: yes because that worked out great for the Lybians didn’t it?

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    Mute Harry Whitehead
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    Nov 14th 2017, 8:44 PM

    @Vincent Sweeney: Mugabe managed to turn what was formerly known as the Bread basket of Africa into the Basket case of Africa. And his wife is popularly known as DisGrace among Zimbabweans. At this stage a dead dog in charge would be an improvement.

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    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
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    Nov 14th 2017, 9:28 PM

    @Vincent Sweeney: lybians?

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    Mute Remy
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:41 PM

    If ever a country needed regime change.

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    Mute Ryan
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:57 PM

    @Remy: Be careful what you wish for… it’s Africa we’re talking about where getting rid of one dictator usually involves replacing him with someone even worse… not to mention the very real possibility of a brutal civil war that will inevitably spread into surrounding countries…

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Nov 14th 2017, 8:50 PM

    @Ryan: Taught that you were referring to Ireland for a moment there.

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    Mute Ryan
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    Nov 14th 2017, 10:21 PM

    @Patabake Kennedy: If The Troubles in Northern Ireland had been prosecuted on an African level you’d probably have been looking at the entire number of deaths there over the 30+ years of violence happen in a weekend…

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Nov 14th 2017, 10:37 PM

    @Ryan: Actually Ryan, I assumed you might have known that I was referring to the dictators part of your comment.

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:30 PM

    I believe the tanks being used are the little known P-45 model.

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    Mute DaisyChainsaw
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    Nov 14th 2017, 6:39 PM

    SHENANIGANS!!!!

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    Mute john g mcgrath
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    Nov 14th 2017, 8:17 PM

    @DaisyChainsaw: is that an Irish bar ?

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    Mute Anthony R Fildes
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    Nov 14th 2017, 10:48 PM

    Sincerely hope this is the end for the Mugabe clan…

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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    Nov 14th 2017, 9:59 PM

    Treacherous shenanigans have been Mugabes trademark since he enter politics

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Nov 14th 2017, 11:59 PM

    @Quentin Moriarty: he must have been taught by an Irish Missionary!

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 12:26 AM

    This is a power play between the Old Guard of the ruling elites and Mugabe’s wife and her supporters. Mugabe was removing all opposition to her succeeding him as President.

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