Posted by 17th November 2009
Gerry Jackson
We received a very disturbing report today that is yet another indication that the army is getting completely out of line. A well known Catholic priest in Banket has been savagely beaten by a soldier.
Father Wolfgang Thamm is in his late 60’s and is a man who is deeply respected by everyone who knows him. He’s been a priest in Zimbabwe for most of his life and for the past 12 years has been ministering in Banket.
On Sunday afternoon he was on a mercy mission to Darwendale with one of the hospital nursing sisters, to fetch an asthmatic boy from the Darwendale clinic and take him back to Banket hospital for better care.
President ZCBC Archbishop Robert Ndlovu
From Trelawney he took the Maryland Road to Darwendale and about half way, passed the farm buildings which have been commandeered by the army as a sort of barracks, because it is close to their national armory in Darwendale.
He was flagged down by a soldier standing at the side of the road, but he didn’t notice the man until the nursing sister with him said she thought they were being waved down. He reversed the vehicle back about 50 metres and was met with full abuse for his failure to instantly obey the signal.
The armed man ripped off his glasses and gave him a full punch to the right eye (already damaged from a vicious beating he had in the 2002 elections). He was then hauled out of the bakkie, punched again and shoved into a large muddy puddle, where he was kicked in the stomach twice and beaten again. They then used a container to pour muddy water over him from head to toe, until even his shoes were full of mud. He was then told to get out of there.
He drove to Darwendale clinic where they cleaned him up, gave him aspirin, lent him a pair of old trousers and a blanket for his shoulders to replace the wet, muddy clothes and in driving rain he drove all the way back to Banket hospital, in the dark.
His one eye is now completely red where the white should be and his cheeks puffy and bruised. His stomach is also still very sore.
His staff and parishioners are devastated by this attack on such a good man. Apart from anything else Banket has had no power (therefore no water) for the past seven days and Father Thamm has been running a generator a few hours a day to pump water free of charge, so that people in Kuwadzana township can collect in their buckets.
It is of great concern that the army feels so unaccountable and free to abuse anyone they want to. It does not bode well for the future of Zimbabwe.
Additional reporting: SW Radio Africa
Stopping cars in the road is the Police’s job, not the army. Beating up people is for thugs not the army. The army is there to protect the people.
While some may justify this by saying because we don’t have credible opposition so its OK what ever zanu does. (which I find very confusing considering the fact that they are the opposition. they want to change the opposition so that they can remove the problem)
Even if we remove ZANU now we will need a complete overhaul of the whole justice, home affairs and defence ministries.
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Complete overhaul from the police to the courts to the responsible MINISTRIES to the HEAD OF STATE.
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Citizens do not have the state protection, there is no rule of law in Zimbabwe. So the soldiers are running the show. Abel the world is watching.
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Hey fool, where in the article does it refer to Abel?
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The article refers to abel because he supports anything done by zanu supporters whether evil or evil.
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I would say something about this event but i have heard of people who have been punched in the eye through their computer screens for commenting anything nasty about soldiers!
-Vakuru Chaivo-
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Ndosaka muchizomamiswa anaGuseni. You have verbal dhayariya. Where did I say I support Sodiers beating up people? Acknowledging that they are beating people and that your useless leaders are watching helplessly does not amount to supporting them. If you could read people’s comments you would learn a thing or two. You just see the name Abel, and off you go typing without reading. Take note of what vakuru chaivo said above.chuckle!!!!
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@ abel
Please can you justify this case. Tsvangirai failed to protect this man? Or maybe he failed to stop when flagged down. Or he is just another colonialist dictating to nurses to treat an asthmatic.
Infact if we analyse this we will find it is the priest’s fault, not the soldier’s, right?
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Whami, what has Tsvangirai done to help the people being attacked by soldiers? I thought he was the PM and has power to summon the Defense minister. I read somewhere that he had summoned Munangagwa about not being saluted which is useless. If he had summoned him about the soldiers I am sure we would all see that he is doing something about it. We would be happy to hear that one or two soldiers have been rounded up for their rowdy behaviour but as it is he is nice and quiet and that is nonsense. That makes us think that his priorities are wrong.
I know this Ndlovhu chap must be a naughty guy inviting a beating but that should not justify soldiers beating him up The soldiers will continue until they are reigned in by their leaders.
Anyway to you Morgan can do no wrong and these soldiers are beyond his control, so you say.
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Abel’s reasoning is the following: “Anything wrong done by ZANU(PF) is good because it shows that ZANU(PF) still controls power and MDC-T has no power. To prove it, Tsvangirai should run to the road where the soldiers beat people and he will shout at them”
Thats Abel’s thinking. How can Tsvangirai protect individuals from a mafia. He did that last time by going to rescue Mutambara and he was beaten by police. Mugabe celebrated. Abel celebrated. Mutambara did nopt say much to condem. But then when elections came, the people spoke. Mugabe is shivering. The word he dislikes is “Elections”
Abel those wjo are persecuted are the victors. Those who persecute are the losers. Its just that simple. ZANU(PF) is gone
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Dream on Sheppy.
If Morgan made as much noise for the people being persecuted as he does for Bennett then half the problem would be solved.
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The problem is not on soldiers ,Mugabe or Tsvangirai according to my understanding , why ?. Point one we all know that soldier work and act on orders right . Assuming they were told that because of the current senerio were weapon disapeared @ 16.00 that road is closed ,there will execute that order as it is or there are killed themselves for failing to enforce the order.Secondly Mugabe is not in control of the soldiers ,proof they went on strike last year ,They amended their act recently to read that they no longer salute an MP, Ministers .PM .vice PM and agreed that they will salute President , Vice president and Minister of Defence. Reasons of saluting these three were given as follows 1,President becoz he is commander in chief
2, Vice President if he /she is acting President .
3,Minister of defence only when he is officiating matters concerning Defence forces
Thus why Tsvangirai said Mugabe after all is not a problem but the hardliners .
Who are they? we need to know .Who wrote the memo or circular to say from today we now salute so and so ? .If u guys as fellow Zimbabweans come up with an answer to my questions then we could be answering the question , WHO ARE THE SOLDIERS BEATING UP POVO EVERYTIME .
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Isaiah 13: 5-11 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his wrath to destroy all the land. Howl for the day of YHWH is at hand. It shall come as destruction from the almighty…Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it…And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible
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@ abel
When you responded to me saying “……………..that should not justify the soldiers beating him up”, I actually dropped a tear. Bet others did too
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Whami, why dont you drop the semantics and say exactly what you mean.
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