The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) says that the ‘abducted’ retired Colonel Elliot Piki did not retire from the army but was dishonourably discharged for having an affair with a subordinate’s wife. Piki made headlines last week after his wife sensationally claimed that he had been abducted on Sunday from their home before he could testify before the Motlanthe Commission the following Tuesday.
Piki’s lawyers said that their client escaped from his kidnappers in Rushinga, in Mashonaland Central Province, before he came back to Harare. It was, however, too late for him to give his testimony since the Motlanthe Commission had ended public hearings. Meanwhile, the Commission spokesperson, John Masuku, said that Elliot Piki was never listed among those who were supposed to testify before it. ZNA spokesperson Overson Mugwisi has this to say on Piki’s discharge from the army
We are disturbed by false allegations peddled in some sections of the private media insinuating ..Piki, a former member of the ZNA, was abducted by masked armed men suspected to be State security agents using a vehicle similar to those allocated for use by senior ZNA officers.
While it is true that Elliot Piki once served in the Zimbabwe National Army as a senior officer, he is not a retired colonel. He became an ordinary citizen after losing his commission when he was tried, convicted and cashiered by a General Court Martial for scandalous conduct of an officer on August 8, 2013.
Piki had involved himself in an illicit love affair with his subordinate’s wife who was also his junior serving member of the Zimbabwe National Army. Sadly, Piki was aware of the drastic consequences of such an illicit affair for serving members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
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