adminharmonised elections to be held next month and warned that all those bent on committing acts of violence would be met with equal force.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the School of Military Police at One Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe National Army chief of staff (Quartermaster staff), Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, said violence would not be tolerated before, during and after the elections.
In Shamva, the officer commanding Police Support Unit, Senior Assistant Commissioner Mekia Tanyanyiwa, said they were ready for the harmonised elections to be held next month and warned that all those bent on committing acts of violence would be met with equal force.
He said it was the police unit’s responsibility to cultivate a peaceful environment and ensure that the electorate exercised their voting rights freely without fear of violence or victimisation.
Maj-Gen Nyikayaramba said: “I urge you, as security forces to ensure that such a peaceful environment continues to exist before, during and after the harmonised elections that our country is about to undertake.
“The conduct of the constitutional referendum in a peaceful environment was a plus for us as the security forces and as a country at large. On the forthcoming harmonised elections, the Head of State and Government and Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Robert Mugabe has spoken that there should be no tolerance to violence.”
In Bulawayo, the 134 graduating officers were drawn from the Zimbabwe Prison Services, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Namibian Defence Forces and the ZNA.
They completed courses in Basic Military Police, the Provost Senior Non-Commissioned Officers the Junior Investigations, Military Police Records Maintenance and Regimental Police.
There were 120 male and 14 female students. Maj-Gen Nyikayaramba, however, said six students did not complete the course that started in January because of indiscipline.
Online Reporter