Junior Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers say they have been threatened by senior officers to either vote for Zanu-PF or risk losing their jobs.
The junior police officers have alleged that they are being coerced to attend what they termed "the ruling party's rallies" under the guise of training and they have been told not to vote for any political party other than Zanu-PF at this year's general elections.
"We were forced to be part of the two-day workshop which was just a disguise, as it was a rally and we were threatened and told to vote for the ruling party or we will find ourselves jobless," a female police officer told Scrolla.Africa.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief elections officer Utoila Silaigwan said that the commission can't comment as they don't know if the allegations are true or not.
Another police officer based in Harare who attended the workshop said that senior officers were putting emphasis on the issue of regime change in Zimbabwe.
"We were told that there is a need for us to stand up firmly and defend the country's sovereignty through voting for President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the forthcoming general elections," he said.
"Senior officers told us that we should make sure that we adopt cadetship and do the right thing in favour of Zanu-PF and urge each other to vote for the ruling party so that we protect our livelihood," he added.
Citizens for Coalition Change president Nelson Chamisa, who leads the main opposition, also weighed in and said that he knows what uniformed patriotic officers are going through.
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"Be strong, non-partisan and remain loyal to Zimbabwe and its citizens. Practise professionalism first, as the darkest hour is just before dawn and the sun will soon rise," he said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said that he doesn't know about it, and added that he sees Chamisa saying the same thing time and again.
"Let me just say if he feels like he also wants to campaign to both senior and junior ZRP officers, let him do so because there is nothing like that in Zanu-PF. We don't force anyone to vote for the party because it's unconstitutional," he said.
He added that it doesn't make any sense to force someone to vote for a certain party because when they go to the ballot box, they will go alone.
ZRP spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, after being asked under what capacity senior officers coerce their juniors to vote for the ruling party, said that he is not aware of that.
Pictured above: A group of police officers patrolling the streets of Harare
Picture source: ZRP Facebook page
