The helicopter that crashed in Masvingo is said to have been an ageing plane given to former President Robert Mugabe as a gift by the South African Defence Forces. This was revealed by renowned academic and law expert Alex T. Magaisa. In a series of tweets on his page, Magaisa had this to say,
… Further to the earlier thread, more data indicates it was indeed a military chopper ferrying the Permanent Secretary for Defence & fellow guests to a graduation jamboree for an Under-Secretary in the Defence Ministry. Clearly a personal affair & unconnected to state business.
Apparently, following the crash-landing of this chopper, another chopper was scrambled to the venue to take the elites back to Harare. And we have our Finance Minister @MthuliNcube preaching austerity. Besides, the Constitution prohibits personal use of state assets like this.
ZBCNewsonline tells us a helicopter had an emergency landing yesterday. Among the passengers was the Permanent Secretary for Defence. The broadcaster doesn’t tell us the owner or operator but a convergence of factors suggests it is a military chopper. I did a bit of digging.
The chopper is described as an Alloette III manufactured by the French decades ago. Earlier this year, the French Navy retired its fleet because they were antiquated & costly to maintain. This should give us some picture as to the age and state of this chopper.
It gets worse: a few years ago, the Mail & Guardian reported that the South African Defence Forces had disposed of its Alouette IIIs and guess where the old birds ended up? Zimbabwe. Described as a “gift” to Mugabe. It’s possible that this troubled chopper was one of them
The passengers, including the Permanent Secretary for Defence, are fortunate to have escaped fatal consequences on this occasion. But one thing is certain: the incident won’t have escaped the attention of bigger chefs who like to use military aircraft.
The political & military elites will certainly think twice before they take the next ride! Although I wouldn’t be surprised if some will be encouraging them to use them more often!
Now Magaisa has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is indeed crazy, How does he know the Helicopter wasn’t inherited from the Rhodesian Air Force who used those birds extensively during the war and of course the whole fleet was inherited by the Zimbabwean Air Force? he says the fleet is old which begs a question should the flying Choppers be retired and replaced at whose:s expense and what should be done to those still serviceable Choppers seeing this hard landing doesn’t happen often. Last but not least even if the South African Air Force did donate them Birds to the Zimbabwean Air Force does that mean they are personal property of Mugabe? Magaisa for lack of a better word is indeed a A@$%*+Hole
He’s pointing out that they are old and costly to maintain… Furthermore they were not used for state business… Take a chill and digest the facts… I’m sure the fat cats won’t use these helicopters now anyway…. Would you take a ride in them yourself