via Donated helicopters find their way into Zimbabwe? | SW Radio Africa by Tichaona Sibanda on Friday, February 14, 2014
Namibia could have controversially used a ‘perfect cover’ to send helicopters to Zimbabwe, for rescue operations to save flood victims in the Tokwe-Mukosi basin, following the heavy rains in the last few weeks.
The Alouette III helicopters are the same aircraft the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) wanted to donate to Zimbabwe last year. But an urgent court order obtained by AfriForum in 2013 prevented the donation to Zimbabwe over fears that President Robert Mugabe’s regime would use the aircraft against its own people.
Earlier this month South Africa announced it would donate the 12 Alouette helicopters to Namibia. Following these reports AfriForum said they would monitor the donation to Namibia to ensure that it does not end up benefiting the Mugabe regime.
But following floods in the country, the Namibia Defence Force (NDF), sent three of its helicopters to Zimbabwe on Wednesday, after appeals from Zimbabwe to assist with airlifting marooned families affected by flooding at Tokwe-Mukosi in Masvingo.
NDF public relations officer Petrus Shilumbu said: “The heavy rainfall experienced in the Republic of Zimbabwe have prompted the Government of Zimbabwe to request assistance from the Republic of Namibia.” Shilumbu said in response to that request the Namibian airforce sent three of its helicopters, with six pilots and seven technicians.
However Namibia’s generosity has raised eyebrows, taking into account that it is sending to Zimbabwe the same type of helicopters that were blocked from being donated to the airforce of Zimbabwe.
AfriForum legal advisor, Willie Spies, said while they do not object to Namibia offering help to Zimbabwe, they will not hesitate to approach the South African courts again if they discover that the rescue mission has been used to sidestep legal issues concerning the helicopters.
Solomon Chikohwero, a former airforce officer in Zimbabwe and director of Intelligence for the MDC-T, said the ‘help’ from Namibia was part of a grand plan to deliver the helicopters from South Africa via Namibia.
‘If Zimbabwe really needed help airlifting marooned villagers, they would have simply asked Zambia or South Africa, that are an hour away from the flood victims by air.‘To seek help from a country that is half a day away using helicopters raises eyebrows. South Africa has helicopters permanently stationed at Limpopo and Messina for rescue operations and it would have made sense asking help from them,’ Chikohwero said.
He said he felt certain the helicopters would not be going back to Namibia.
‘They will use every trick or excuse for the helicopters to remain in Zimbabwe. Either they will say they have developed mechanical failures or will leave them in the country until the floods are over,’ he added.
COMMENTS
This sadc animal
Going into evils of the past to cover evils of the present . Shameful.
So in other words you are saying the Mugabe regime should be allowed to murder people because its a black government.You are narrow minded. You are even more racist than the white man. Those white people are not as bad as you want us to believe.Dont try to lecture to us about the past We also know. But be reminded that life in Zimbabwe was far much better under Smith than under Mugabe. Can you justfy what the C10 of ROBERT
I HAD a very high opinion of President Pohamba
Most of afriforum were also at school as and when you claim they were racists looting on African soil. Some of their families have been in South Africa for 400 years and they are as African as you are they simply aspire to a higher set of values than the corrupt genocidal looters making up ZANU PF. All their actions did was deny Mr Mugabe a chance to break the arms embargo on Zimbabwe, which is in place because of Mugabe’s human rights record.
Gay gangsta zig zag has zero credentials!!!!!!!!!!!!
Firstly Zig-zag you don’t have to shout to put across your point.
You say you are not a racist but why do you associate the colour of people with Afriforum with their viewpoint? Afriforum has a point and it doesn’t matter what the colour of their skin is.
Let me tell you that before independence a number of white people fought for the black cause. Equally there were a number of black people who fought against independence initiatives. We all know them those of us old enough.
Let me tell you that I myself have lost more relatives to the regime of Robert Mugabe than I did to Ian Smith’s regime. Some have been made to disappear by the CIO, these CIO are also black.
I have also lost more friends to the Mugabe regime than I have ever did to the Smith regime. In those days people could be arrested and upon their release they could continue with their lives. Today people are released from jail and they die soon after – they kill them slowly.
In 2008 I had relatives killed just because they were seen to be sympathetic to MDC. These killers are known and they roam the streets today and Mugabe made sure they were not arrested. He may want to use them another time. These killers are black.
In the 1980s, whole villages were wiped off by Mugabe’s army because they were thought to be supporting dissidents. At that time Mugabe and his regime where on record saying “they were prepared to wipe off Matabeleland”.
So Afriforum whatever colour they might have have reasonable concerns, the colour of their skin is neither here nor there because we are talking about a regime that has a history of killing its own people to hang on to power.
Maybe Zig-zag you are one of the unfortunate few who have never lost any relatives to this Mugabe regime using state apparatus against powerless civilians.
Maybe you are one of the few people with no relatives who ended up dying up because they were denied life saving medication despite being PSMAS members yet now we now know that all along the CEO was being paid a million dollars every two months.
For the record I am also black just in case you want to know the colour of my skin, it seems like it matters so much to you.
Its rather unfortunate that in 2014 that people still look at the colour of someone’s skin instead of looking at the facts.
Until the next election, the helicopters are for poaching elephant ivory. When the election comes you know what they will be used for.
Doesn’t zimbabwe have any serviceable helicopters? Are they all broken? Why am I not surprised. They will be used to poach and fly smaller bigwigs around till they are also broken. Zanupf can’t fix anything!