Perence Shiri

Infobox Military Person


name= Perence Shiri
lived= 11 January 1955 –
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=
|caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
serviceyears=
rank= Air Marshal
branch= Air Force of Zimbabwe
commands= Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade
Air Force of Zimbabwe
unit=
battles=
awards=Grand Commander of the Zimbabwe Order of Merit [ [http://www.jeanpaulleblanc.com/Zimbabwe.htm Orders, Decorations and Medals - Zimbabwe] ]
laterwork=

Air Marshal Perence Shiri (born 11 January 1955 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00001701----000-notes.html US Code Collection - Executive Order No. 13288] , "Cornell Law School". Retrieved on 31 March 2007.] ) is the current commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe [http://www.mod.gov.zw/airforce/airforce.htm Air Force of Zimbabwe] , "Zimbabwe Ministry of Defence". Retrieved on 31 March 2007.] and a member of the Joint Operations Command which exerts day-by-day control over Zimbabwe's government. [cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/2080992/Zimbabwean-generals-'have-taken-Robert-Mugabe's-power'.html |title=Zimbabwean generals have 'taken Robert Mugabe's power' |accessdate=2008-07-14 |last=Blair |first=David |date=2008-06-22 |publisher=telegraph.co.uk]

Perence Shiri was born on 11 January 1955 and is a cousin of Robert Mugabe.cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/08/09/wzim209.xml |title= The air marshal, Gaddafi and the big grain buy-up |publisher=telegraph.co.uk |date=2002-08-08 |accessdate=2007-03-31] He has called himself Black Jesus,cite book|last=St. John|first=Lauren|year=|title=Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War, and an African Farm|pages=234] because according to an anonymous claim on BBC's program "The Price of Silence," he "could determine your life like Jesus Christ. He could heal, raise the dead, whatever. So he claimed to be like that because he could say if you live or not."

From 1983 to 1984, the Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade, under Shiri's command, was responsible for a reign of terror in Matabeleland. During the slaughter, thousands of civilians were killed and thousands more were tortured. Despite this, in 1986, Shiri was granted a place at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/1861719.stm |title= British Invitation to Mugabe's Butcher |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=2002-03-08 |accessdate=2007-03-31]

In 1992, Shiri was appointed the commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, taking over from Air Chief Marshal Josiah Tungamirai.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Shiri was reported to have organised farm invasions by war veterans. [cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/03_march/10/panoramamugabe.shtml |title= Panorama reveals what British Government knew about Mugabe’s worst crimes |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=2002-03-10 |accessdate=2007-03-31] In 2002, in response to the subsequent food shortage, Mugabe dispatched Shiri to South Africa to purchase maize. This undertaking was backed by a credit note for the equivalent of 17 million GBP from the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi.

With the Mugabe government facing increasing problems, the Zimbabwean press reported in February 2007 that Shiri was regularly attending General Solomon Mujuru’s unofficial meetings with other senior military commanders and some political leaders. These meetings had discussed forcing Mugabe to the polls in 2008 with a view to his replacement as president. [cite news |url=http://www.zimdaily.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1356/2007-02-23.html |title= Mujuru plots Mugabe's ouster |publisher=zimdaily.com |date=2007-02-23 |accessdate=2007-04-01]

In the days before the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election Shiri, along with other Zimbabwean Defence chiefs, held a press conference where they stated that defence and security forces had been deployed across the country to maintain order. In a remark aimed against the Movement for Democratic Change, the defence chiefs stated it would be a criminal act anyone to declare himself the winner of the election. They maintained that such a statement must only be made by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. [cite web |url=http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/army37.17961.html |title=Zimbabwe's defence chiefs issue threats on election eve |accessdate=2008-03-31 |last=Nkatazo |first=Lebo |date=2008-03-28 |work=newzimbabwe.com]

anctions against Shiri

In 2002 the European Union barred Shiri from entering the EU [cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=4AQI53KIKSGSTQFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2002/02/19/wzim219.xml |title= EU targets the henchmen |publisher=telegraph.co.uk |date=2002-02-18 |accessdate=2007-03-31] and on 6 March 2003, George W. Bush ordered the blocking of any of Shiri's property in the United States.

References