An army recruit tragically drowned during a training exercise in April, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander Lieutenant General Emmanuel Matatu revealed on Friday.
He made the remarks while presiding over a pass-out parade at Imbizo Barracks in Bulawayo.
Lieutenant General Matatu said 500 recruits began the training programme, but only 489 successfully completed it, comprising 363 men and 126 women. He said:
Within this 500 we had 129 females who started the course. Passing out today we have 489 recruits comprising 363 males and 126 females. Eleven recruits could not make it to today and regrettably one very promising recruit sadly passed away on the 6th of April in a drowning incident which we are investigating up to now. Ten failed to meet the requirements of the course and had to be removed.
Lieutenant General Matatu did not provide further details about the drowning incident.
He explained that the 36-week training programme for cadets includes a wide range of military disciplines such as the use of infantry weapons, field craft, minor tactics, foot and arms drills, map reading, voice procedure, conventional warfare, military law, and civil-military relations. He said:
The 36 weeks that are spent here are very challenging both physically and mentally and here we grow the men out of the boys that we start off with, we get women out of the girls that enrol on our recruit course.
The army chief warned that indiscipline will not be tolerated, stressing that any recruits who turn rogue will face the full force of the law as outlined in the Defence Act. He said:
The army is a disciplined force and we do not tolerate cases of indiscipline. There will be no leniency on members who break the law and commit offences. If you involve yourself in cases of indiscipline you will face the full wrath of the law as spelt out in the Defence Act.
I want you to be vigilant and alive to the dangers of some mischievous social media platforms where disinformation and misinformation aimed at subverting the general populace and members of the ZNA ,we have also become a target.
More: ZimLive
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