“General Mujuru strongly believed an educated soldier would make a professional member of the defence force. In the Mid 80s as army commander, he indicated that he would rather remain with a pocket of educated soldiers while the rest furthered their education under army sponsorship.
Mujuru was then commanding an integrated army composed of former warring forces, former Rhodesian soldiers, ZANLA and ZIPRA combatants. Most of them had little formal school education,” said an army Colonel at KG6 Army Headquarters.
Following Mujuru’s sentiments, the majority of army personnel were reportedly granted authority to further their education with the assistance of army education grants. As a result, The Zimbabwe National Army was turned into a multi-skilled and educated army.
The Mujuru shaped army received recognition from the United Nations and was invited to take part in a number of UN led peacekeeping missions around the continent. The ZNA subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in countries such as Somalia, Angola and Rwanda, among others.
Post published in: News