Army denies troops court-martialled

Zimbabwe’s defence headquarters on Thursday denied a local newspaper report that up to 300 soldiers have been court-martialled in the past month alone for refusing deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Military spokesman Colonel Chancellor Diye told IRIN that courts martial were a normal disciplinary measure in any army. But he denied that any had taken place as a result of soldiers refusing to fight in the DRC, where Zimbabwe is supporting the Kinshasa government against Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebels.

Zimbabwe’s independent weekly ‘The Financial Gazette’ alleged on Thursday that as units were being rotated in December and extra troops assigned to the DRC to beef up a troubled southern front, some soldiers had refused the call-up.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior army official as saying “there was a lot of resistance from a significant number of soldiers”. Among the reasons cited was a lack of military equipment following losses suffered in the battle for the southern DRC town of Pweto.

The army official said that some court martialling had taken place inside the DRC affecting, among others, a battalion commander who had abandoned equipment and fled the rebel advance. Some 300 Zimbabwean soldiers crossed into Zambia from Pweto in December, alongside over 3,000 DRC troops and several thousand more refugees.

“The story is totally false. We’ve never experienced any problems concerning our troops refusing to go the Congo. Instead it’s the opposite - everyone is raring to go, morale is very high. We have a disciplined armed forces that are highly motivated,” Diye said. He added that press reports last week of reinforcements being sent to the DRC were incorrect, and any fresh troops ordered into the Congo were part of a normal rotation of units.

Michael Quintana, editor of the Harare-based Africa Defence Journal told IRIN that although he had not specifically heard of any court martialling in the army, “morale has been rather low, especially of late.” DRC ex-combatants interviewed by IRIN in northern Zambia last week alleged that some Zimbabwean troops on the southern front were demoralised by their conditions.

A ‘Washington Post’ report from Pweto on 2 January said that the Zimbabwean garrison had abandoned intact at least six armoured personnel carriers in the scramble to escape the advancing Rwandans and rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) allies. Diye told IRIN that he did not have “full details” of the hardware left behind.

Zimbabwe’s dire foreign exchange shortage has reportedly hurt its ability to maintain equipment levels in the armed forces. Hardest hit has been the air force. According to Quintana, its fleet of British-built Hawk ground-attack jets that were initially used extensively in the DRC has been reduced to two operational aircraft, and only half-a-dozen helicopters are flying. “The Zimbabwe Air Force, for all intents and purposes, is no longer an air force. Flying hours have to be husbanded very carefully,” Quintana said.

Diye also denied the ‘Washington Post’ report that Zimbabwean troops and armour had supported a DRC military advance against Rwandan positions at Pepa late last year, which precipitated the counter-attack by Kigali that led to the loss of Pweto. “It’s not true. We are sticking to our ceasefire lines and are not participating in any offensive of any kind.”