HARARE - Zimbabwe’s army generals have admitted that ruling Zanu PF supporters are behind the politically-motivated violence that has left 32 opposition supporters dead and thousands homeless following President Robert Mugabe’s defeat in the March elections.

 

A group of church leaders seen to be sympathetic to Mr Mugabe, who met commanders of the army, police and the secret service in Harare, told the state media that the security forces were worried about the escalating violence ahead of the  election run-off end of June.

 

 

 

But the generals, who stirred controversy in the run-up to the elections by declaring that they would stage a coup if opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, reportedly defended the ruling party supporters, saying they were provoked.

They said both Zanu PF and MDC supporters had set up torture camps and “bases”, from where they were planning attacks against each other.

The group of security chiefs makes up the Joint Operations Command (JOC), now said to be in charge of the day-to-day running of the country following the disputed elections that saw Zanu PF also lose its parliamentary majority to the MDC for the first time since independence.

“Members of the JOC gave a very detailed overview of the historical context of where we have come from and where we are today,” said Trevor Manhanga, who led the church leaders at the meeting.

“It was made clear by members of the JOC that in the current context, there has been violence committed by both parties, Zanu PF and the MDC, though they felt that Zanu PF has reacted due to provocation,”  he added.

Notably, no Zanu PF supporter has been arrested for the violence, while hundreds of MDC members, including newly elected members of parliament, have been jailed without charge.

The ruling party has called for the creation of liaison committees with the MDC so that they can jointly investigate reports of political violence, which the United Nations warned this week was reaching crisis levels.

The police commissioner general, Augustine Chihuri, said they had met Zanu PF and the MDC representatives to warn them against resorting to violence.