Kidnappers seize army commander's baby

Kidnappers seize army commander's baby

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By Staff Reporter

KIDNAPPERS have seized an eight-month-old baby of a top Zimbabwean military commander causing fear and anxiety among the ranks of officers, military sources said.

The dramatic snatch comes barely three months after the death of another senior commander in a mysterious train accident.

The baby’s father is the Commander of Bulawayo District, Colonel Chancellor Diye, military sources at Imbizo Barracks, 20 km outside Bulawayo, said at the weekend.

Diye was the army spokesman for a long time before being promoted.

Diye’s wife, sources said, had reported that she was gassed and passed out. She found the baby gone when she recovered. The incident happened last week in Harare.

A source revealed: “Mrs Diye had just seen off her husband at Harare International Airport when she and her husband’s driver stopped at the city centre in Harare for other business.

“The driver left her alone as he went into a building. The attackers pounced when she was alone and made off with the baby.”

Col Diye was going to China on official business, and is believed to be still there.

Soldiers spoken to said the situation was tense at Imbizo Barracks, where Colonel Diye is based.

Fuelling the panic is the fact that the incident comes just months after the death of One Brigade Commander Brigadier General Armstrong Gunda in a mysterious accident near Marondera. Gunda’s wife has been publishing pictures of the accident scene, in an apparent bid to prove that he could not have died due to the accident.

Gunda was declared a national hero. Speculation over the circumstances surrounding his death ran rampant when two other Brigadier Generals died and were also declared national heroes.

Army sources said military intelligence corps, the CIO, and police have launched a massive manhunt for the child. The search has so far yielded nothing.

Efforts to interview Colonel Diye’s wife were unsuccessful as she is under 24-hr protection, and was not allowed to talk to people about the incident.

Messages left for an army spokesman had not been returned.

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