Boy Scout trainers facing terrorism charges

By Alex Bell
08 January 2009

The owners of a well known boy-scout camp outside Harare have this week become the latest group of Zimbabweans to face terrorism charges, joining more than 40 activists who have been abducted or arrested on similar charges in recent weeks.

The initial arrests of the three Kudu Creek camp owners came after a military style raid on the camp premises last Friday, with groups of heavily armed state security agents storming the camp and taking the shocked men into custody. The three men were released not long after their arrest, but were re-arrested on Wednesday and are now facing banditry, terrorism and insurgency charges for supposedly training bandits to topple Robert Mugabe.

The camp, which has been in operation for more than five years in Ruwa, offers adventure training for Boy Scouts, tourists and others interested in learning the art of outdoor living. Police officials have said they received a ‘tip-off’ that bandit training was taking place on the premises instead, but the three men are yet to be charged.

They are instead being held without charge in prison, supposedly while investigations continue. They are the latest group of people likely to be used in the legal game being fought by the state to build a case against the MDC.