18TH OF MARCH 2026
FORMAL RESPONSE BY AIR MARSHAL (Retired) HENRY MUCHENA
On Behalf of Retired Generals and Senior Civil Servants Who are Ex Combatants
In Response to Statements by Temba Mliswa
Your recent utterances and video attacking retired senior army Generals and civil servants in the aftermath of our correspondence on Amendment Bill No. 3 to The Clerk of Parliament are not only irresponsible but they are dangerous. We seldom respond to most noise but we are now compelled to respond not in anger, but because you chose to trivialise, make inflammatory and disparaging remarks on a fundamental issue that we raised. One of the two key reasons we left our villages to fight the war of liberation struggle, the issue of “Universal Adult Suffrage”, “One man One vote”.
Let it be made unequivocally clear, from the onset, that we will not tolerate partisan narratives and unfounded attacks under the guise of political commentary or grandstanding for cheap political mileage or pieces of silver. The men, women and institutions you so casually disparage are pillars of national stability, and any attempt to undermine their credibility for personal or political mileage will be met with the seriousness it deserves.
It should be stated, as we do now:
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Our letter to Parliament was part of a formal, constitutionally prescribed process relating to Constitutional Amendment Number 3. That process is conducted through Parliament and through the Clerk of Parliament. At no point does that process require us to clandestinely approach the President of Zimbabwe. The suggestion is not only constitutionally illiterate, it is disrespectful.
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We find it deeply disrespectful that you say we spoke because we are bitter because we do not have jobs. You are getting ahead of yourself. We served and continue to serve this country and the Party ZANU PF with distinction on battlefields, in offices of state, in the barracks and in the corridors of governance. To reduce our principled engagement to bitterness born of unemployment is beneath contempt. The same spirit that we fought a War, for nothing in return, is the same spirit that lives in us. This should be a teachable moment for you.
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You said we are not clean. We demand that you explain precisely what you mean by that. We are listening. So is the nation.
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The forum to which we submitted our letter was the correct and proper one. It was a direct response to a public call by the Clerk of Parliament. We ask you plainly: are you accusing us of leaking that communication? We signed that letter, delivered it, and received a return copy from Parliament. Our submission was thus lawful, transparent, and procedurally sound.
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We demand to know who gave you the mandate to respond to us in the manner you are doing. What locus standi do you have?
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Are you the Parliament Spokesperson?
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Are you the Government Spokesperson?
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Are you the Party Spokesperson?
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To the best of our knowledge you are not a Member of Parliament or ZANU PF member. In good standing, you are an opposition activist. Where do you get off addressing Retired Generals and Senior Civil Servants who gave their lives for the freedom you abuse now?
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You seek to dissuade us from political involvement. We were the commissariat. We mobilised the citizenry. We recruited members into the very political party on whose behalf you now presume to speak.
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We learn from your statements that you are advancing interests of certain individuals. The only interests that must stand supreme are the interests of the Zimbabwean people and not the interests of individuals or certain Ziganandas. It is the people’s interests and the people’s interests only.
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You have threatened us with charges of treason for making a formal written submission in terms of the Constitution, following a very public call by the Clerk of Parliament. We do not take that lightly, and we advise you not to repeat it ever.
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We take the greatest exception to your tone and to your threats. We will not take that lying down. “When you shake the baobab, be certain you can withstand what falls from it.” We wore the uniform with pride, served the flag with honour. Once a soldier, always a soldier- loyal to the flag, faithful to the uniform and indebted to the people, for life.
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Let this statement also serve as a stern warning to all those who belittle and mock the national issues that we seek to address. If you have nothing better to say please maintain your silence. Zimbabwe’s peace and security are not platforms for political grandstanding.
Stand guided.
Al-Marsha’at (Retired) Henry Muchena
For and On Behalf of Retired Generals and Senior Civil Servants Who are Ex Combatants
