"ARE THE POLICE TURNING ON MUGABE?"

Robert Mugabe's police force, one of the mainstays of his power base in Zimbabwe, may be turning against him. Today, 10 senior police officers - seven superintendents and three inspectors - went into hiding after being suspected of arming the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) with tear gas grenades. The tear gas was allegedly used by MDC activists during the recent violent protests that rocked Harare. Mugabe's dreaded spy agency, the Criminal Investigation Organisation (CIO), has launched a probe into how the tear-gas "found its way into the wrong hands." The 10 officers under suspicion were expected to report for duty at 8am today at stations in central Harare, Marimba and Highfield, but failed to appear. All are known to have access to the police armoury. A leaked CIO internal memorandum, Starting a regular First Post column from inside the troubled African state sent to the ministers of defence, state security and home affairs, reveals the way the investigation is proceeding. It reads in part: "The demonstrators used the UK MK1 number 91 and the UK L1A1 hand grenades which emit CS and CN type of smoke and are only available in police reserves, meaning that they were clandestinely obtained from some senior police officers." It explains that the grenades, thought to have been sold to the MDC for 5,000 Zimbabwean dollars (about £10) each, could not have been obtained from junior police officers, who have to account for every grenade they are armed with. While the action of the missing 10 officers might be down to Mugabe's failing power, it could also be economic. Zimbabwe police are notoriously underpaid, and the government has recently had to give them special food rations. Ex:

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1546

 

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