Mugabe's campaign choppers grounded, claims Baba Jukwa

President Robert Mugabe's campaign has hit a snag amid reports that two of his three Presidential helicopters are grounded at Manyame Air Base due to mechanical faults and lack of spare parts.

The Airforce of Zimbabwe's helicopters, Robert Mugabe has so often used during election campaigns are grounded at Manyame Airbase, sources said.

Baba Jukwa revealed in his facebook profile yesterday that he was at Manyame Airbase: "I was at the Manyame Airbase this whole afternoon after we have been asked to check the progress done in servicing them after five days of waiting."

"There are also technical problems on these helicopters which might cause them to crash with the President on board."

Baba Jukwa claims that the repairing was supposed to have been completed before the launch of the manifesto at the Zimbabwe Grounds but up to present, Aircraft engineers are failing to make them fly. He also claims that there is some Squadron who is suspected to be sabotaging the repairing of these planes that the President missed his scheduled rally he was supposed to address in Gokwe.

"The military intelligence team has been asked to give a report immediately to the President's office about who is sabotaging."

Baba Jukwa claims that there are contigent measures being put in place to reschedule President Mugabe's rallies around areas near Harare in Chinhoyi, Bindura, Marondera and Chivhu that will be beamed live by the ZBC to make the message reach many people. There are also technical problems on the helicopters which intelligence reports point that these helicopters might crash when the President is inside.

This year, a South Africa-based civic rights group blocked a "donation" of surplus military helicopters to Zimbabwe's military.

The AfriForum group said the gift of old Alouette helicopters was not cleared by South Africa's official arms control committee that vets weapons exports to recipient countries embargoed for their human rights record.

In May this year, South Africa's Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, as chairman of the arms control committee, approved the donation of helicopter airframes and spare parts to Zimbabwe, on the grounds that they are not "controlled items" with a military application.

The Democratic Alliance defence spokesman David Maynier had written to to Mr Radebe asking' for the arms control committee to investigate the proposed donation.

Mr Radebe wrote to Mr Maynier, saying his committee only considered applications relating to "controlled items".

"The items to be donated are unserviceable, have no hard points or weapons mounted to it and the spare parts and components have no features and characteristics that would transfer it from a civil aircraft to a military aircraft," he wrote.

Mr Maynier said: "In the end…the end user for the helicopter airframes and spare parts is the Zimbabwe Defence Force."