ZNA spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore
By Rex Mphisa
The Zimbabwe National Army and police in Beitbridge yesterday said the firearm abandoned by suspected poachers in the Bubye Valley Conservancy was not linked to the military in any way.
The security agents also said the firearm was a 303 rifle and not an AK47 as previously reported by NewsDay on Monday.
“It has since been established from police records that the weapon in question is actually a 303 rifle whose serial number is L9422 and not an AK47 as reported in the media,” ZNA spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore said in a statement.
In an interview yesterday, the officer commanding Beitbridge Police District Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo said the gun was found with seven rounds of ammunition.
“The serial number of that gun is not in the Firearms Registry. We are still trying to investigate its origins, but it is not correct to say it is from the Zimbabwe National Army. Police are still investigating,” Nyongo said.
Police sources had linked the firearm to the military.
Two poachers were last week cornered by game scouts in the Bubye Valley Conservancy and abandoned the gun as they fled.
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