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Soldiers, militia on the rampage
The Standard (Zimbabwe)
August 06, 2006

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=4456&siteid=1

SECURITY officers have laid siege to many parts of the country, conducting mass seizures of people’s belongings as Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono intensifies his "economic war".

Ordinary Zimbabweans trying to fend for their families have been the most affected.

Militias, soldiers and police beat up and plundered civilians’ money and goods, reports from many parts of the country show.

The situation was worse at the country’s borders and on the highways, where reports speak of a "massive" looting spree.

While the Reserve Bank says nearly 1 200 individuals and companies have been arrested and more billions in old bearer cheques have since found their way into banks as a result of a joint RBZ and police operation, ordinary Zimbabweans have harrowing tales to tell.

Zimbabweans coming from shopping trips to Botswana told The Standard how they were "stripped naked" by Border Gezi graduates. Any money found on them was confiscated, as were their goods, notably DVDs.

They were forced to immediately surrender any foreign currency in their possession.

The Zimbabweans spoke of body searches while being accused of sabotaging the country’s economy. There were no receipts issued, the travellers said.

"The scale of confiscation was massive. We saw trucks being used by RBZ officials full of goods such as DVDs confiscated from cross-border shoppers," said a woman who travelled from Botswana on Thursday last week.

Declining to be identified, she said many of the people caught in the blitz believe the money confiscated from them would find its way into the pockets of the Border Gezi youths.

But she spoke of how dehumanising it was to be ordered to "strip" and then being searched by people she said had already "judged and convicted" them as economic saboteurs.

Travellers from South Africa through Beitbridge spoke of encountering as many as 12 roadblocks between the border town and Bulawayo, which they said were manned by youth militias. Travellers to Masvingo spoke of 10 roadblocks. There are five more roadblocks between Masvingo and Harare.

They told The Standard that despite crossing the border in the morning they only arrived in Bulawayo in the evening. Normally the journey takes a few hours.

A South African traveller said he nearly lost his foreign currency to the youth militias. He was accused of coming to purchase bearer cheques with the intention of taking them back to South Africa, he said.

He was saved, after he asked how they expected a foreigner visiting Zimbabwe to have no money for his upkeep and return journey.

A woman who travelled from Beitbridge said a rural trader on his way from Esigodini to Bulawayo to purchase goods for his shop had $81 million seized from him.

She said: "The people were not even allowed fares from Bulawayo to their final destinations."

Reports of similar mass seizures were received from Mutare, the eastern border city next to Mozambique, with reports that irate Mozambicans barred a senior government official from entering that country because of seizure of their money. Mozambicans buy Zimbabwean currency which they use for shopping in Mutare.

Human rights organisations have described the mass confiscations as another "Operation Murambatsvina".

But it was not only travellers who were affected. In Harare, soldiers have been beating up people in the city centre and suburbs indiscriminately. There were reports that even quiet suburbs like Borrowdale were affected.

On Thursday night more than 100 uniformed soldiers beat up Harare civilians in an orgy of violence that also saw three tourists being savaged by soldiers.

The Standard witnessed the beating up of residents as they made their way home from work during the rush-hour. Mbuya Nehanda Street, where most of the commuter buses pick up passengers resembled a war zone as "the people’s army" turned on the people.

Victims lay writhing on the tarmac while women and children who had been caught in the crossfire wailed. One panic-stricken woman cried in anguish as she searched desperately for her child, lost during the commotion.

Patrons at nearby drinking outlets were not spared either as they were ordered to pour their beer onto the ground and to "swim" in it.

A man who was walking along Mbuya Nehanda Street fainted after the soldiers stomped on his head with booted feet. They (soldiers) carried him away, claiming they were taking him to hospital.

Army public relations director, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Tsatsi, professed ignorance of the attacks.

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