| Country: | Zimbabwe |
| Details of Formation: | The National Youth Service is a programme introduced in 2000 by Border Gezi who was then Minister for Gender, Youth and Employment. It is aimed at Zimbabweans aged 10 to 30. The graduates of the programme are referred to as Green Bombers. It is coded as a PGM from 2000-02-12 to 2009-02-01, from 2010-01-01 to 2012-01-01 and from 2017-01-01 to 2018-12-31. |
| Details of Termination: | The group was disbanded for the first time at the formation of the unity government in February 2009, which stripped away a core of ZANU-PFs support base. They were re-introduced in 2010 but were eventually removed from government payroll in 2012. In the following years, President Mugabe announced several times that the National Youth Service programme should be reintroduced. In the 2017, the programme eventually continued, but was cancelled again in January 2018 by Mugabe’s follower Mnangagwa. Previously graduated members, the Green Bombers, still seem to operate occasionally. |
| Purpose: | The group’s stated purpose is to transform and empower youths for nation building through life skills training and leadership development. However, they have been condemned in the West and other African nations for gross human rights violations on behalf of the ZANU-PF party. The service is said to indoctrinate its members with absolute loyalty to the ruling party and trains them for military operations to enforce its dominance (Wikipedia). During several election campaigns, the group unleashed terror and intimidation on voters and political rivals. |
| Organisation: | The group is said to have very loose command structures which renders them more violent and dangerous. They are operated by the ruling party ZANU-PF. |
| Weapons and Training: | The first training camp was established at Mount Darwin in 2001. Conditions in the training facilities are reported to include poor construction, frequent hunger and sexual abuse of girls and women (Wikipedia). Training instructors are drawn mainly from serving and retired senior army and police personnel as well as from members of the War Vets. In 2017, some youth members were sent to South Korea for martial arts training. At some events, the group was armed with sticks. |
| Size: | In 2002, the group is estimated to have 40,000 members. In 2004, more than 80,000 youths are said to have been trained to defend the country and by the end of 2005, 70,000 youths had graduated. |
| Reason for Membership: | The group is comprised mainly of unemployed youths. The militia was formed as a part of the re-introduction of compulsory national service. Trainees were promised preferential treatment in vocational colleges as well as micro-credit schemes run by the government to encourage self-employment. Holding a national youth certificate was a key requirement for joining public services and helped to be recruited to the army, the police force, nursing schools and teachers’ colleges. It is coded as a PGM from 2000-02-12 to 2009-02-01, from 2010-01-01 to 2012-01-01 and from 2017-01-01 to 2018-12-31. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The group terrorised villagers throughout Zimbabwe, especially during election times. It was heavily involved in the 2008 election violence, during which an estimated number of 200 people have been killed. Villagers, and especially those supporting the opposition, were beaten, tortured and intimidated. |
| Other Information: | Pro-ZANU-PF Youth groups are a subset of the ‘ZANU-PF militia’ and have many synonyms: Youth Brigade, Green Bombers, the militia, the Taliban, ZANU-PF Youth militias, Border Gezi Training Camp militias. |
| References: |
Human Rights Watch. 2008. ““Bullets for Each of You”: State-Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe’s March 29 Elections.” Mate, Rekopantswe. 2012. "Youth lyrics, street language and the politics of age: Contextualising the youth question in the Third Chimurenga in Zimbabwe." Journal of Southern African Studies 38 (1): 107-127. Wikipedia. “National Youth Service (Zimbabwe)”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Youth_Service_%28Zimbabwe%29 |