Military unrest is reported to have rocked the headquarters of 2 Brigade in Harare last week when soldiers went on the rampage and sabotaged the brigade™s fleet of vehicles in protest at poor service conditions, The Standard understands. As a result of the sabotage, operations were partially grounded and would have left the country exposed in the event of an attack from hostile forces, said military sources. According to the sources, the underpaid soldiers allegedly removed batteries from the brigade™s vehicles including a bus and some Dong Feng trucks imported from China. The deputy commander of 2 Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Kalisto Gwanetsa, requested The Standard to submit a list of written questions to the brigade™s offices in Cranborne. “Usapinde mukati, ukapinda ndokugura musoro, (Leave your questions at the gate. If you get inside the camp I will cut your head off),” said Gwanetsa who claimed he was also a journalist. Gwanetsa later said: “There is no story. I am training my soldiers. I cannot divulge the nature of my training to you. Some of the questions that you have asked are very sensitive. That is what the enemy is waiting to hear …”

Senior officers allegedly accused junior soldiers of stealing the batteries, The Standard was told. They immediately ordered that no juniors should leave the camp until all the batteries had been recovered or replaced. “The senior officers claim that if the junior soldiers leave camp, this will give them an opportunity to go and cash in on the allegedly stolen batteries,” one source said. Other reports indicate that the soldiers have been asked to undertake menial tasks while the Special Investigations Branch of the Military Police conducts investigations. But junior soldiers have hit back saying only senior officers had the means to remove batteries from the fleet. “It is very simple. The senior officers are the ones who have A2 farms and those big batteries are ideal for use on many vehicles used on farms,” said one of the soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity. “No ordinary soldier would be able to carry those big batteries out of the camp that easily. But it would be very simple for a senior officer to drive out of the camp with the battery in his car.”

The soldiers said they were also angry that while the brigade was not able to conduct normal military business because of an alleged fuel shortage, senior army officers were able to attend to personal business, including visiting their farms. Over the years, soldiers have watched as their conditions of service have continued to deteriorate. Wages have been whittled down by inflation with security guards last year earning more than some uniformed officers. Soldiers say the army has been hit by desertions with several deserters preferring to work as security guards in neighbouring countries like Botswana and South Africa. They claim they are now subjected to a miserable diet of beans as the army cannot supply them with meat on a regular basis. Some of them have resorted to armed robberies to make ends meet. The army has also denied reports that soldiers have been sent on forced leave because it cannot feed them.

From The Standard, 26 March
By Foster Dongozi

Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com