Parliament Holds Public Hearing On Possibility Of Reintroducing Green Bombers
A Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth, Sport and Recreation held a public hearing in Bulawayo on the revival of the National Youth Service (NYS), commonly known as ‘Green Bombers.’
The Omega Sibanda-chaired committee was consulting the public on the NYS Bill, which government intends to introduce.
Conveners of the Bulawayo meeting were forced to summon anti-riot police when violence broke out following a contribution by one participant, Grace Mutanda, who expressed her reservation over the programme.
During her presentation, Mutanda claimed ZANU PF had set a torture base in the Entumbane high-density suburb ahead of the 2023 elections under the guise of NYS.
This assertion did not go down well with some ZANU PF activists who bayed for Mutanda’s blood.
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NewZimbabwe.com reports that some activists who were outside the meeting’s venue flocked inside and started causing more mayhem by threatening to beat “sellouts” in the meeting. The publication says one drunk youth said:
Whether you like it or not, we are going to introduce the NYS. We cannot have youths who denigrate their leaders and the country. That will not happen under our watch.
The youths dispersed in two ZANU PF branded vehicles after the arrival of anti-riot police.
The committee’s chairperson was forced to cancel the meeting and announced that the committee would return for another hearing, on a date to be advised.
Some context:
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration says it is rebranding the NYS and will introduce the programme next year, starting at the Early Childhood Development (ECD) stage.
The NYS was introduced in 2000 by the then Minister for Gender, Youth and Employment, the late Border Gezi, with the first training camp being established in Mount Darwin in 2001.
The “Green Bombers’, as they are derisively called because of their green uniforms, were mostly used to perpetrate violence on opposition supporters ahead of the crucial 2002 Presidential election.
Government critics are questioning the timing of the re-introduction of the programme saying the ruling party intends to use participants to intimidate opposition members ahead of the 2023 elections.
