The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
The Zimbabwe National Army is worried about cases of abuse of service weapons by its members, a senior officer has said.
Speaking during a pass-out parade for senior non-commissioned officers at 5 Infantry Battalion recently, ZNA Chief of Staff Administration Staff Major-General Paul Chima said the army was facing challenges in safeguarding weapons especially those that were being used on civilians.
“We are facing a major problem as soldiers right now as we need to deal with issues to avoid such a tragic event like the one that took place in Bulawayo recently where civilians were killed by one of us.
“As soldiers we are not doing enough in terms of securing and safeguarding our weapons and you as graduates of this course need to take the responsibility of ensuring the safety of our weapons is met with priority in order to make sure the people are safe out there,” said Maj-Gen Chima.
He said as soldiers, their duty was to protect the civilians and safeguard the country’s peace and security.
“Soldiers are responsible for peace keeping as well as protecting the interests of the nation hence the killing of civilians contradicts the army’s responsibility,” he said.
Maj-Gen Chima stated that such behaviour would not be tolerated, adding the induction course will help equip the soldiers with necessary knowledge on how to safeguard the interests of the nation.
Maj-Gen Chima’s sentiments come after a soldier left duty in possession of a service rifle which he later used to kill his wife and two other people in Bulawayo before attempting to kill himself.
