Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba: Zimbabwe National Army

Douglas Nyikaramba a high ranking military officer in the Zimbabwe national Army has publicly declared his allegiance to Zanu PF and particularly its leader President Robert Mugabe. In May 2011 Nyikayaramba described the MDC-T Leader as a security threat and that the Zimbabwe National Army would do anything in its power to make sure President Mugabe will remain in power for ever. There was no shred of doubt that  Brigadier General Nyikayaramba who is a member of the notorious National security structure JOC really meant his words. Since the formation of the MDC Nyikayaramba appears to have dedicated his working life in the army to fight the MDC. 

During the military bloody campaign for President Mugabe between March to June 2008, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba was very instrumental in using his vast military experience in spear heading all military operations against the MDC in Mashonaland East Province. In April 2008 he set up a torture base at Sadza growth point in Chikomba district. Many MDC supporters and sympathizers were tortured by the army at this base. He joined forces with an equally ruthless Rtd Brigadier General Rungani and Lt Colonel Marara to wreak havoc for all MDC supporters in Chikomba. The base at Sadza growth point was the command centre for all Zanu PF militia gangs. Most of the cases were referred to Nyikayaramba for final decisions.  On 9 May 2008 Nyikayaramba accompanied by Zanu PF youths, war veterans and uniformed soldiers abducted a ward 27  MDC councilor candidate and heavily assaulted him with iron bars, gun butts and knobkerries.

In July 2009 Brigadier General Nyikayaramba fought tooth and claw with the law. He was a state witness in a vain attempt to implicate several MDC-T MPs in an Agricultural Support Scheme scandal. Nyikayaramba was the head of the government Agricultural input scheme and he gave guidelines on the use of the scheme to Zanu PF MPs only and the MDC-T MPs operated in the dark. Nyikayaramba then accused the MDC-T MPs of mishandling the inputs and leveled corruption charges against them. Many MDC members including Ransome Makamure ( Gutu East) and Enerst Mudavanhu (Zaka North). He was reported to have threatened some of his officers who gave conflicting evidence in court that exonerated the accused MPs.

In November 2010 Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba in his capacity as the commander of Manicaland Province Invited 200 chiefs and headmen to his Chikanga 3 Brigade base. He threatened the chiefs with unspecified action if they allowed the MDC -T to hold rallies or meetings in their areas. His instructions were that only war veterans and Zanu PF chiefs should address any gatherings in Manicaland. He promised them that the military was going to reverse all gains made by the MDC-T in Manicaland. All constituencies won by the MDC-T will be returned to Zanu PF, the army will use anything in their power including death to achieve this.

In the March 2002 discredited elections Douglas Nyikaramba crushed the MDC's hopes to smithereens . President Mugabe militarized the management of the election when he appointed Colonel Sobuza Gula Ndebele to be the head of the Electoral Supervisory Commission. Ndebele in turn appointed Douglas Nyikayaramba to the post of Chief elections officer just four days before the polling day. We are sure Nyikayaramba had a field day with these elections as what was obvious and what the nation expected was turned inside out.  President Mugabe miraculously trounced Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC by a very wide margin that surprised even Zanu PF itself. This was the work of Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba. What actually happened in this election has remained shrouded in secrecy up to this day. An enquiry on the truth around this election carried out by South African judges has forever been kept under a tight political lid. The Zanu PF government then lied that he had left the army but surprisingly enough he is still serving now as commander of 3 Brigade.