ZIMBABWE - HARARE - Sydney Sekeramayi, the outgoing Defence minister has moved to calm restive Harare residents following running battles between regular duty soldiers and military police in Harare Monday that left two soldiers dead following exchange of gun fire in the city centre.

 

Sekeramayi, speaking on national television Tuesday night, described soldiers who caused chaos in Harare demanding their cash from banks Monday, “unruly elements.”

 

Military sources now say most of the soldiers were members of the youth militia, recently integrated into the army from the Border Gezi training institution.

The Zanu (PF) government of Robert Mugabe sponsors a "youth militia" - the National Youth Service known as the "Green Bombers".

The children are armed, provided with narcotics, and used for acts of urban violence against political dissidents.

 

They are believed responsible for some of the worst acts of political violence in recent history.

It could not be immediately ascertained if the soldiers in full military dress who ran amok in Harare Monday were members of the Border Gezi militia.

But Sekeramayi described them as 'loose canons' in his televised address.

 

“Harare experienced disturbances perpetrated by few unruly elements from the defence forces," Sekeramayi said.

 

"Those actions are unacceptable, deplorable and reprehensible. The ministry of Defence expresses sincere regret that this has happened and would like to assure Harare residents that this will not happen again."

Some of the soldiers are said to be regular duty soldiers who have been withdrawn from Chiadzwa diamond fields, according to a source, who are now struggling to eke a living from the barracks.

Sekeramayi warned ZCTU, which has planned protests Wednesday against withdrawal limits, that the protests would be quashed by the security forces. But there is no guarantee anymore that orders will be obeyed given that civilians were now closing ranks with the army and protesting against government.

Diplomats have indicated that they are anxious about the Wednesday protests. Top diplomats called yesterday for restraint from the government, asking it "to respect the right of the citizenry to protest peacefully and not to follow through on threats to suppress the protests".

Mugabe, who met UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon during a recent trip to Qatar for a UN conference, has vowed that the opposition would come to power only "over our dead bodies". Mugabe has systematically undermined a power-sharing agreement with the opposition, seen as the last vestige of hope for the imploding economy.

There are no estimates yet of how many demonstrators are expected to take to the banks Wednesday.

Anti-riot and military police on Monday broke up army protests at Fourth Street termini, killing two instantly. Police insisted that the protests were politically motivated and illegal.

Opposition fliers distributed before the Wednesday protest said Mugabe's repressive government "has lost all love for people and fear of God" and likened Zimbabweans living in misery to the biblical Israelites in Egypt who sought spiritual inner strength to confront the forces of evil.

Meanwhile, security sources say that about one hundred soldiers remain at Chiadzwa following similar unrest with authorities resolving to leave the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to man the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

The open mutiny is the army is a powder keg for the Mugabe regime, which has relied on the loyalty of the army to remain in power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

KWAEDZA " Hatichareva nhema"

 

CHOMBO ABATWA NE KORERA

 

JONGWE OMUKA CHIPOKO KUCHIKURUBI

 

ZUMA ORO-ORA MWANA WA SAVE

 

Margret Dongo otizira kunaAugustine Chihure

 

Guva raMuzenda roshaikwa KuHeroes Acre

 

 

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