Army now applying stiff penalties to its members

Zimbabwe National Army recently expelled and jailed rogue elements among its rank and file to retain the good image of the force, a senior officer has said.

Addressing Commando Regiment troops during their 33rd anniversary celebrations in Harare yesterday, Chief of Staff Quartermaster, Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, said discipline was of paramount importance in the army.

"Be warned that in a bid to effectively contain cases of indiscipline, the ZNA is now applying stiff penalties to anyone caught on the wrong side of the law," he said.

"Some members of the force were convicted and are now languishing in jail and some were booted out of the service unceremoniously.

"I would like to implore you to make sure you improve on areas that you know you are lacking in the day-to-day discharge of your duties in order to avoid what may dent the sterling efforts you are doing for the organisation and the nation at large."

Maj-Gen Nyikayaramba said Zimbabwean Commandos continued to excel in the region and beyond as evidenced by their successful battles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and many other countries.

"In the DRC campaign, you fought bravely on all the three fronts, thereby raising the national flag high, especially when you broke the eight-month siege of Ikela where allied troops were surrounded by the enemy and virtually cut off from contact with other forces," he said.

"In all these campaigns, you committed yourself to duty without concern for personal comfort or safety, making you a rare breed of fighters.

"As Commando regiment, you continue to excel on military training exercises conducted in South Africa, Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia and Angola and in these trainings you exhibited your mettle. For example, when the boat capsized during training in Namibia's Atlantic Ocean, three commandos managed to survive due to high training standards."

The anniversary saw senior officers led by Maj-Gen Nyikayaramba serving food to the troops as a sign of servant leadership associated with special forces and also inspection of the Commando Roll of Honour.

The best commandos walked away with prize money and trophies donated by the corporate world. Retired and serving commando senior officers such as Colonel Donald Chidawanyika and retired Major Anywhere Mutambudzi attended the anniversary festivities.