Zimbabwe legislator says Mbeki told the British they would be wiped out in 24 hours if they invaded Zimbabwe

A Zimbabwean legislator today told Parliament that former South African President Thabo Mbeki told the British that they would be wiped out in 24 hours if they invaded Zimbabwe.

Buhera West legislator Tafadzwa Mugwadi said the British were planning to invade Zimbabwe to remove the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front from power because of its land reform programme.

Contributing to the debate on the unconditional repeal of United States sanctions on Zimbabwe, which have been in force for two decades, Mugwadi said according to declassified information when the British contemplated invading Zimbabwe, Mbeki told them that they were not going to get out of the terrain in Zimbabwe because the liberation generation veterans were still active enough and they would wipe them away within 24 hours.

“He had to stop an invasion in Zimbabwe. Russia and China had to play a very fundamental role in the Security Council to stop those machinations.  We owe them a salute as the Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” the former ZANU-PF director of Information said.

Mugwadi said the United States and their Western allies imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe to reverse the land reform programme, to remove ZANU-PF from power and to isolate Zimbabwe from the rest of the world.

Below is his full contribution:

HON. MUGWADI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker.  May I take this opportunity to convey my compliments to you in the new season.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mugwadi and same to you.

HON. MUGWADI: Madam Speaker, allow me to add my small voice to the debate under discussion on sanctions.  Firstly, while thanking so much three colleagues who spoke before me and contributed immensely to this debate.  I want to take this opportunity to qualify what sanctions are.  My small understanding tells me that where sanctions are supposed to be imposed on a State, they must follow the protocols and legal requirements provided by the United Nations (UN) Charter, such that for those sanctions to be able to pass the test of legality, they must be multi-lateral and not unilateral. 

What we have on the Republic of Zimbabwe and its people are unilateral sanctions by former erstwhile colonial masters, the British, Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders.  Therefore, because they were unilateral and were not imposed following the provisions of the UN Charter, we have illegal and unlawful sanctions in this country and its people.  Therefore, by all standards, they should be removed because they have no space or place in the community of nations – [HON. MEMBERS:   Hear, hear.] –

Madam Speaker, to that end, we have the African Union.  It has made its voice categorically and unequivocally clear that the sanctions regime on the people of Zimbabwe, their leadership and country are illegal and must be removed. We must therefore, as Parliament, give a strong commendation to the entire African Unions for standing with the people of Zimbabwe.  The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has set aside and observes the 25th of October as a special day annually, as a day of regional solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe in calling for the removal of sanctions which we now call, the SADC Anti-Sanctions Day.

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