Soldiers run amok in Kadoma

By Tichaona Sibanda
10 October 2006

Scores of Kadoma residents were injured, some seriously, when uniformed soldiers from the nearby Suri-Suri defence forces base ran amok and assaulted civilians in retaliation for an attack on a soldier hours early. The hour-long orgy of violence left several people with broken limbs.

The attack on the lone soldier took place in the morning after he had failed to pay for a ride on a commuter omnibus from Rimuka to the town centre. On disembarking from the bus, the soldier told the crew that he had no money to pay for the fare. According to a Kadoma resident the crew understood the soldier’s plight but told him ‘in future he has to tell them first before he decides to commute.’

However, the conversation between the crew and the soldier was overheard by other rank marshalls who took exception to the soldier’s explanation. They beat him up saying he should blame Robert Mugabe and his party for his woes of not having enough money to travel to work.

The soldier managed to escape with a few bruises. He is alleged to have made his way to the defence forces base where he told his colleagues of the attack. What followed next can only be described as scenes from a ‘war zone.’

Within an hour two army vehicles packed with soldiers armed with sticks descended on the sleepy and dusty town and caused mayhem. They indscriminately beat up people, many of whom had nothing to do with the attack on the soldier hours earlier.

Our source, who asked not to be named, said ‘all this madness happened in full view of the police. He said; ‘They (police) just stood there like spectators. It seemed as though they were enjoying it.’

A number of supermarket stores had their windows shattered in the violence. At first some civilians fought back but were soon overwhelmed by the sheer physical strength and power of the soldiers.

‘To say the soldiers beat up people would be an understatement. People were viciously thumped. The soldiers were telling people that an attack on a soldier was a personal attack on Mugabe and hence the consequences,’ said the resident.