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Mnangagwa re-introduces Green Bombers
15 Dec 2018 at 11:24hrs | Views
ZANU PF National People's Conference has adopted a resolution to re-introduce the National Youth Service (popularly known as Green Bombers) in the first quarter of 2019.
This was revealed by the Speaker of parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda when he read Conference resolutions on Saturday.
The youth service programme was launched at the start of the millennium and it coincided with the advent of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which posed a sterner challenge to the ruling party and the then President Robert Mugabe's stranglehold on power.
The "Green Bombers", as members of the NYS were derogatorily referred to by critics, were viewed as Mugabe's "shock-troops" used ahead of all elections to intimidate and instil fear among opposition supporters, as most of the political violence was attributed to them and war veterans.
The programme later collapsed due to lack of funding amid local and international criticism, as graduates were accused of gross human rights violations against the opposition.
This was revealed by the Speaker of parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda when he read Conference resolutions on Saturday.
The youth service programme was launched at the start of the millennium and it coincided with the advent of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which posed a sterner challenge to the ruling party and the then President Robert Mugabe's stranglehold on power.
The "Green Bombers", as members of the NYS were derogatorily referred to by critics, were viewed as Mugabe's "shock-troops" used ahead of all elections to intimidate and instil fear among opposition supporters, as most of the political violence was attributed to them and war veterans.
The programme later collapsed due to lack of funding amid local and international criticism, as graduates were accused of gross human rights violations against the opposition.
Source - Byo24News
