Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

General Sibanda of the Army shakes Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's hand during Defence Forces Day ceremonies at Harare stadium on Tuesday. Air Marshal Perance Shiri can be seen behind the General saluting General Mujuru. Notice how Tsvangirai half-rises in his seat in respect as he shakes General Sibanda's hand. Harare, Zimbabwe, 13 August 2009 I did promise you that I would give you an update on the raging issue of Tsvangirai and the Defence Forces Commanders. Unfortunately, Blogger went down some time ago and has only just returned, so I could not post anything at all. Anyway. The Service Chiefs themselves have confirmed to people who asked them that they did not salute Morgan Tsvangirai. It was alleged that Air Marshal Perance Shiri and General Philip Sibanda of the Army had saluted the Prime Minister. According to sources close to one of the two, here is the true story: Tsvangirai was seated next to ZANU PF Kingmaker Retired General Solomon Mujuru at the start of proceed...

A deft positioning by Tsvangira ensured that two service chiefs, General Sibanda of the army and Air Marshal Perance Shiri had no choice but to greet him. Sitting next to Rtd General Mujuru and VP Mujuru, whom the two had to approach and greet, Tsvangirai extended his hand, and it was accepted by both men. There is already talk about this, but will fill you in later. Robert "The Solution" Mugabe revealed yesterday just how far the tentacles of the security establishment goes in Zimbabwe. Speaking on Defence Forces Day yesterday, Mugabe admitted that senior army officials "have had houses bought for them". At the moment, the cash-strapped Inclusive Government, Mugabe revealed, was buying or building houses for the armed forces in areas like Dzivarasekwa and Glen View. The Defence Forces have also been allocated some farms under Mugabe's Land Reform Programme. Maintaining that looking after the interests of the armed forces was "top priority", Mugabe al...