A ZIMBABWEAN soldier and a police officer were briefly detained by Botswana authorities last week after straying into the neighbouring country.
Botswana used its swift release of the pair to make a thinly-veiled attack on Zimbabwe which detained three of its game rangers for two weeks in January this year after they strayed.
The Botswana government newsletter Tautona Times said Constable Tawanda Chitauro and Private Sakhile Dlodlo were arrested by the Botswana anti-poaching unit near Semalela village in the Bobirwa region on Monday last week.
They were released to Zimbabwean officials on Wednesday.
“The prompt resolution of the incident is in keeping with what has been standard practice on the part of Botswana authorities in the context of joint co-operation arrangements with their Zimbabwe counterparts,” the Botswana government said, clearly eager to contrast its action with the treatment of its rangers which sparked a major diplomatic incident.
Botswana said Dlodlo and Chitauro were armed with a single AK-47 when they were stopped. They made no effort to resist arrest.
During questioning, the pair stated that they had strayed into Botswana territory in the course of an investigation.
In January, Zimbabwe detained three Botswana game rangers for close to two weeks, sparking an angry response from its western neighbour which threatened to pull out two of its senior diplomats in protest.
The rangers were eventually released after they were fined US$100 each by a Hwange court for using an undesignated point to enter Zimbabwean territory.