News / Local
Ex-soldier jailed for supporting MDC-T, bitter about his incarceration
03 Jan 2014 at 05:45hrs | Views
BULAWAYO - A former ZNA soldier who was arrested in January 2013 and jailed for 14 months after being court-martialed and found guilty of actively participating in the Morgan Tsvangirai led opposition politics, has said he is bitter about his incarceration.
Hapson Ncube told Southern Eye that he was bitter about his 14 months' incarceration for actively participating in the structures of the MDC-T after leaving the army in 2006.
Ncube, who quit the army in 2006, said he was the MDC-T Cowdray Park youth chairperson at the time.
He told said that he was arrested on January 3 2013 and court-martialed on March 12 on charges of desertion and active participation in opposition politics.
Ncube said he was jailed under "D Class", which is a category for dangerous criminals.
"Trouble started when I tendered my resignation to the army in 2006," said Ncube. "My resignation was rejected on the grounds that no army member should leave, but I left and went to South Africa.
"It was in South Africa that I got actively involved in MDC-T and returned to Zimbabwe to become Cowdray Park youth chairperson," said Ncube.
Ncube said he did time in several prisons from Khami Maximum Prison, Masvingo, Hurungwe, Karoi and Beitbridge Prison.
Ncube said he was not quitting politics now that he is a free man, but would pick up his life and continue to fight for change.
"Now that I have been released, I will seek audience with the (MDC-T) provincial leadership. I am still actively involved in politics and have resumed my duties as (MDC-T) youth chairperson.
"The July 31 election results broke my heart as I firmly believed that MDC-T would form the new government," said Ncube.
Ncube said inmates were starving in all the prisons he was shuttled to and conditions were very unhygienic. The MDC-T has included Ncube's imprisonment in a political dossier which it has sent to Sadc to apprise regional leaders about the pre-and-post election violence in Zimbabwe.
Efforts to get comment from the army were fruitless.
Hapson Ncube told Southern Eye that he was bitter about his 14 months' incarceration for actively participating in the structures of the MDC-T after leaving the army in 2006.
Ncube, who quit the army in 2006, said he was the MDC-T Cowdray Park youth chairperson at the time.
He told said that he was arrested on January 3 2013 and court-martialed on March 12 on charges of desertion and active participation in opposition politics.
Ncube said he was jailed under "D Class", which is a category for dangerous criminals.
"Trouble started when I tendered my resignation to the army in 2006," said Ncube. "My resignation was rejected on the grounds that no army member should leave, but I left and went to South Africa.
"It was in South Africa that I got actively involved in MDC-T and returned to Zimbabwe to become Cowdray Park youth chairperson," said Ncube.
Ncube said he did time in several prisons from Khami Maximum Prison, Masvingo, Hurungwe, Karoi and Beitbridge Prison.
Ncube said he was not quitting politics now that he is a free man, but would pick up his life and continue to fight for change.
"Now that I have been released, I will seek audience with the (MDC-T) provincial leadership. I am still actively involved in politics and have resumed my duties as (MDC-T) youth chairperson.
"The July 31 election results broke my heart as I firmly believed that MDC-T would form the new government," said Ncube.
Ncube said inmates were starving in all the prisons he was shuttled to and conditions were very unhygienic. The MDC-T has included Ncube's imprisonment in a political dossier which it has sent to Sadc to apprise regional leaders about the pre-and-post election violence in Zimbabwe.
Efforts to get comment from the army were fruitless.
Source - Southern Eye
