Villagers tell of army’s secret graves

ation provided by senior army sources, who alleged that many soldiers had been buried there in the recent months. It was impossible to get to the actual site reported to be the graveyard, but information from nearby villagers confirmed what army sources had said.
“We have seen on several occasions army vehicles arriving, usually late at night or very early in the morning, with coffins and it has also been observed that there is a graveyard with fresh graves which members of the army are guarding and not allowing public access,” said an elder residing close to the barracks.
Defence minister, Sydney Sekeramayi, said he was not aware of ‘any executions or burial of soldiers’. He said the arrest of soldiers reported in The Zimbabwean last week was ‘a normal thing done to those found guilty of misconduct’ but dismissed reports of coup attempts.
But senior sources within the army continue to allege that an undisclosed number of soldiers was executed in March after attempting a coup in Harare under the leadership of a major, and were buried in Domboshava.
The sources further allege ‘several’ other incidents when coup attempts have been foiled through executions with the victims being buried somewhere by the army.
“It has been happening quietly and under a lot of secrecy but there have been several coup attempts as well as executions recently,” a senior army official revealed. “It is a bit difficult to really know every place the victims have been buried but Domboshava has indeed been used to bury quite a number.”
The sources provided links to three families who claim to have lost their relatives through executions. “We have been told officially that he is somewhere on duty but his colleagues eventually revealed that my brother was executed in March after they attempted to stage a coup. He was buried in Domboshava but our efforts to verify this have failed because we were told when we visited the barracks that the place said to be a graveyard was not accessible to unauthorised persons,” said a relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Zimbabwean last week reported that seven army and police officers had appeared before the courts and been remanded in custody after they were arrested in Harare and accused of plotting a coup. More arrests have been made by the state security agents on army officers and there have also been other court hearings, held in camera.