When Mugabe formed the Zimbabwe Security Council (ZSC) and the Joint Operations Command (JOC) three years ago in a way to appease and gain favour of the security forces in Zimbabwe, he did not know that he was creating a recipe for disaster for himself and his autocratic regime. These two organs have been formed to oversee all the operations of government activities and are staffed by members of the security forces and the intelligence sector. Today Mugabe witnesses the negative aspects of militarisation of state instititutions as his soldiers are protesting against his government over the economic crisis that is wrecking havoc to the already fragile country. As the socio- economic and political crisis continue to plummet, there has been discontent in the uniformed forces who now feel that they were being used as political condoms to defend the joys of a chosen few in the Zanu Pf circles to the exclusion of many Zimbabweans.
The members of the Zimbabwe National Army have gone on rampage since Monday the 24th of Novermber 2008 accusing the Mugabe administration of taking them for granted. The soldiers have been raiding the foreign currency dealers who are alleged to be receiving large sums of money from the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gedion Gono, to buy foreign currency from the black market. Many soldiers have since escaped from the barracks to their homes as they allegedly said that they are dying from hunger yet their bosses are being swarmed by looted wealth. Many have vowed not to go back to the barracks for fear of being murdered by the ruthless regime. The soldiers are calling the masses of the Zimbabwean populace to join them in thier protests against the Mugabe administration and especially the RBZ Governor, Gono who has held the entire population to ransom because of his failure to handle the financial crisis bedeviling the country at the moment.
This is a heavy blow to the Mugabe government which was, hitherto, putting too much reliance on the security forces to continue with his erstwhile grip to power. His failure to contain these demonstrations, the first of their own kind in the history of this country since independance, is a clear indication that Mugabe has lost control of the country now. The country is fast sinking into a the doldrums and with the rate at which the spontaneous upheavals are taking place, the country might find itself in a conflict situation at any moment from now. It is my hope that the two political factions should find a solution to the crisis as the developmental costs of conflict are too gusty to contain as evidence from many post conflicts countries in Africa clearly demonstrates.
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