ZIMBABWE
Of Coups and Coverups
Zimbabwe’s military seized control of the state broadcaster to allow army leaders to address the nation as soldiers and armored vehicles patrolled the streets of Harare and residents reported hearing explosions in the capital city.
Armed forces commander Constantine Chiwenga said early Wednesday that the military had not taken over and that President Robert Mugabe and his family were safe, attempting to quell speculation about a possible coup, Bloomberg reported.
“We are only targeting criminals around [Mugabe] who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” the New York Times quoted Maj. Gen. S. B. Moyo as saying, reading from a prepared statement.
On Monday, Chiwenga warned that the army would step in if Mugabe’s purge of veterans of the country’s struggle for independence continued, following the ouster of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Prior to the seizure of the state broadcaster, Zimbabwe’s ruling party called Chiwenga’s criticism “treasonable.”
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