ARMY chief, General Constantine Chiwenga has said two senior officers who blasted his leadership and lack of military experience during secret meetings with US Ambassador, Charles Ray will not be punished.
According confidential US embassy cables released by whistle-blower website, WikiLeaks, Major-General Fidelis Satuku and Brigadier-General Herbert Chingono made their damning assessment of Chiwenga during a secret meeting Ambassador Charles Ray in Harare on January 5 and 6 last year.
But Chiwenga told state media the army would not take any action against the pair.
“The ZDF is a strategic institution that cannot afford to make any irrational decisions. Our role is to defend the nation and we cannot afford to be distracted from this duty by the works of foreign forces,” Chiwenga said in an interview with The Sunday Mail.
“The two generals are key components of the force; they have served us well. We cannot afford to treat them in an irrational manner because of something that cannot be verified.”
Satuku and Chingono reportedly told Ambassador Ray that Chiwenga lacked military experience and had only attended one mid-level training course.
“The Commander of the Defence Forces, General Constantine Chiwenga, is a political general who works hard but has very little military experience or expertise,” the US embassy cables read in part.
“A political commissar before 1980, he has only attended one mid-level training course, which he did not complete. If given a choice between a military and political issue, he routinely defaults to the political.”
But Chiwenga warned that US officials could have been trying to destabilise the army and force the security services sector reforms being demanded by the West.
“The WikiLeaks statements were made by United States embassy officials; they might have had an imperialist agenda,” Chiwenga said in an interview with The Sunday Mail.
“To the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), WikiLeaks is of little significance. It would, therefore, be improper for an institution such as ours to make a decision based on statements that were relayed by United States embassy officials who could have been pursuing certain agendas.”
At the time of the alleged meeting with Ray, Brigadier-General Chingono – an artillery officer -- was the army’s Inspector General. He was the last ZNA officer to train under the America’s International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme, graduating from NDU in 1999.
Major General Satuku – who received his training in England -- was the ZDF Director General for Policy and Personnel.