Arms of war cache discovery evokes Gukurahundi memories

A Masvingo man has discovered a metal box containing 760 live rounds for an AK 47 rifle while weeding his field.

The strange discovery has evoked memories of the Gukurahundi menace that was sparked by a similar find at Zapu owned properties in 1982.

It ended with the Robert Mugabe owned Zanu-PF unleashing the dreaded five Brigade that massacred more than 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

Masvingo police yesterday said a 22-year-old man from Village 4 in Chiredzi discovered the ammunition in January and kept the box until Thursday when he handed it over.

The live rounds are believed to have been left during the liberation struggle.

Villagers yesterday said they were wary of the find because history showed that such discoveries often did not end well.

"We know the police and the army will soon be here harassing us. The man should have left the box where it was. Gukurahundi started in such a way," said one of the villagers.

Chiredzi district in Masvingo has become synonymous with cases of arms of war being seen in bushes.

Sometime in April, 2011, villagers from Angus Range in Chiredzi unearthed an array of ammunition comprising 200x6 mm AK rifle, a grenade, a bomb and 592 rounds of 2.2mm riffle while ploughing in their field. On the same a ten-year-old boy of Maradze village under chief Maranda in Mwenezi also saw a bomb and grenade while herding cattle in the bush.