NORTON MP Temba Mliswa has made sensational claims regional body, SADC sat and considered deploying an army to save then President Robert Mugabe who had been put under siege by the military November 2017.
Mliswa told journalists this past week he took it upon himself to “storm” a SADC Troika meeting that was being held in Botswana to decide on the region’s response to an unexpected military takeover in Zimbabwe and convinced the leaders any external invasion was unnecessary as the people were firmly in support of what was happening.
The former Zanu PF provincial chairperson for Mashonaland West said he told delegates there was no coup in Zimbabwe and whatever was happening back home was constitutional.
“Besides me being related to the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa), I must make this very clear, I have never ridden on him, I have no business with him, I have never asked him for anything because I am my own person.
“They know I am a straight forward person, they know I tell the truth, that is why I went to SADC in Botswana to block Troika from coming here, to tell the truth that Zimbabwe wanted a change and there was no point reinforcing an army to come here,” said Mliswa.
“We believed in the president that is why we went that far.
“You know that when we were going through what we were going through, the former President Robert Mugabe was very much supported by SADC and (then South African) President (Jacob) Zuma.
“They had a meeting in Botswana discussing what they could do in Zimbabwe.
“I stormed in and presented our constitution, telling them of deployment of the army on national defence issues and where there is lack of law and order.
“There was no point for them to do anything extra, we were working on our issues.
“It was constitutional, and they were saying the army had taken over but the army had not taken over.”
A SADC Organ Troika Plus Council Chairperson Ministerial meeting was held in Gaborone on 16 November 2017 to consider the situation in Zimbabwe then.
Although minutes from the meeting noted the regional bloc was concerned, no other action besides recommendation to uphold the constitution and convening of another Organ Troika were taken.
