Harare, Zimbabwe — There are mounting fears of violent 2023 elections after government on Tuesday announced the return of the notorious National Youth Service dubbed the ‘Green Bombers’.
The militia that made up Zimbabwe’s so-called Green Bombers, was two decades ago famed for violent election campaigns and killings during the reign of former President Robert Mugabe.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Nick Mangwana, Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, said ‘Cabinet has approved the re-establishment of the National Youth Service Programme.’
Claris Madhuku, a pro-democracy activist in Zimbabwe said the moves to bring back the country’s controversial National Youth Service program, ‘sparks fears that the ruling Zanu-PF may be plotting a bloody general election in 2023.’
Dubbed the Green Bombers known for the green military fatigue donned by the youths, the National Youth Service was founded by the late Zimbabwean Minister of Youth, Border Gezi in the year 2000.
Also known as the Border Gezi Youth Training, the program has served as a platform for the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) to indoctrinate youths and use them to unleash terror against opposition members often during elections.
Youths conscripted into the National Youth Service back in the 2000 to 2008, stand accused of committing some of the most heinous crimes during the reign of late former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa hailed the revival of the country’s National Youth Service program, saying it was “crucial in nurturing young people into becoming responsible and resilient citizens with a clear sense of national identity and respect for national values.”
Mutsvangwa also said youths graduating from the National Youth Service “will qualify for further training, assistance in starting businesses, and for enrollment for careers in the police, the army, the air force, nursing, and teaching, among others.”
But the country’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change see only evil about the initiative.
“The desperate regime presses yet another disparate note of discontent. They want violence in 2023. They want another genocide in Zimbabwe. They have an itch that needs scratching. Shame on them and their false gods,” said MDC Alliance Vice President Tendai Biti on Twitter.