Air force commander survives attempt on his life

HARARE - Air Marshal Perence Shiri survived at attempt on his life Saturday night and is recuperating at an army hospital, zimbabwejournalists can reveal.

The Air Force Commander was shot while driving out of his farm near Marondera by unknown assailants. Sources close to him say he suffered minor injuries to one of his arms but was in a jovial mood and on the mend.

A zimbabwejournalists.com Correspondent in Harare says Shiri was hospitalised after being shot on his arm by the unknown assailants. The Zimbabwe government has kept the incident as a closely guarded secret.

Following the weekend attack, Zimbabwe's military has been placed on high alert. Security around Zanu PF's top leadership, sources reveal, has also been boosted.

The former guerrilla fighter during Zimbabwe's struggle for independence is aligned to retired General Solomon Mujuru and the attempt on his life could, according to sources in Zanu PF, be part of the power struggles in the ruling party as the country continues to go down the abyss.

The sources say Shiri, long sidelined by President Robert Mugabe for his relationship with Mujuru, was further ostracised by his boss following Simba Makoni's launch of his failed Mavambo project.

Mugabe believed, the sources say, that Shiri, nicknamed the Black Jesus during the Gukurahundi massacres that saw 20 000 people dying in Matebeleland and Midlands provinces, supported Makoni's bid for the top office.

Shiri, according to the sources, was against Mugabe's continued stay in office resulting in Mugabe not extending his term of office as he did with his other colleagues in the Joint Operations Command (JOC) such as Constantine Chiwenga and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri.

Mugabe has been extending Shiri's term annually despite the Air Force chief's desire to retire, the sources said.

The attempt on his life, coming hard-on-the-heels of Elliot Manyika's death, whose family believes he was killed because of intra-party fighting in Zanu PF, will further heighten tension in the country with Zimbabwe accusing Botswana of training youths to try to topple Mugabe with the MDC.

New Zimbabwe quotes a Zanu PF official saying; “He came under fire from a sizeable number of professional hitmen. He survived the attack, although he was shot on the arm."

Military intelligence investigators, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and police are all said to be involved in the investigation to track down the attackers and establish a motive.

“They are pursuing three lines of enquiry: was it an assassination attempt by outsiders seeking to destabilise the country; was it part of the internal struggles for power within the party (Zanu PF) or was it a private quarrel? All these are under consideration at this point,” the official said.

According to New Zimbabwe.com state-run Herald newspaper and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s Newsnet came close to running a story on the attack late Sunday after police confirmed they were investigating the incident only to be told to hold back.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Monday that it feared President Robert Mugabe was primed to declare a state of emergency following claims that it had trained bandits in neighbouring Botswana and was preparing for “war”.

Efforts to get a comment from the army were fruitless as they did not return calls. - Own Correspondent/New Zimbabwe