South Africa knew what Zimbabwe military was up to – Robert Mugabe ex-spokesperson

South Africa’s defence forces were kept constantly updated on the Zimbabwean military operation that removed Robert Mugabe from power, the former president’s spokesperson has said.

George Charamba said the constant updates meant the South African government was kept in the picture via its national defence force, something President Jacob Zuma expressed thanks for during his meeting this week with newly-inaugurated president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.



“The ZDF (Zimbabwe Defence Forces) command kept briefing South African Defence Forces to a point that the South African government, through its defence arm, was always aware of what was happening,” Charamba said, in quotes carried by the state-run Herald.

Political armies

“He (Zuma) paid ringing tribute to the ZDF for handling a very delicate situation,” Charamba added.

“What became very clear is that the region was not dealing with a military issue; it was dealing with a political issue which had invited the involvement of the military.”

Charamba is now Mnangagwa’s spokesperson. He said Zuma conceded that “all our armies are political armies because what came first was politics which then found a gun”.