{"id":104925,"date":"2025-02-20T21:54:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T19:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill"},"modified":"2025-02-21T00:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T22:56:12","slug":"government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill","title":{"rendered":"Government Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of “Routine Drill”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Government officials on Wednesday sought to calm the public after two columns of army vehicles were spotted on the streets of Harare, sparking fears of a potential military coup.<\/p>\n

Videos of the military vehicles quickly went viral, reigniting memories of the events of November 2017, when a similar display of military power led to the ousting of former President Robert Mugabe. This prompted widespread speculation about the possibility of a coup.<\/p>\n

However, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ndavaningi \u201cNick\u201d Mangwana, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and government spokesperson, assured the public that the movement of the military vehicles was part of pre-scheduled military drills. He said:<\/p>\n

There is a scheduled exercise to test equipment which is taking place today. Nothing to be concerned about.<\/p>\n

President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s spokesman, George Charamba, reassured the public on Wednesday that the movement of military vehicles through Harare was part of routine exercises, aimed at ensuring the Zimbabwe Defence Forces\u2019 readiness.
\nCharamba said that the military was \u201cgoing through the routine of ensuring all their battle systems are in tip-top state, keeping you secure and defended.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sight of twenty-one military vehicles, primarily multi-purpose armoured cars and tanks, on Borrowdale Road in one of Harare\u2019s wealthiest neighbourhoods, startled motorists, who quickly posted videos online.<\/p>\n

The convoy, which included a mix of military gear, was seen passing through the area, sparking a wave of speculation and concern.<\/p>\n

According to ZimLive, the military vehicles were moving from the 2 Infantry Brigade (formerly Cranborne Barracks) and were headed toward Alfida Barracks in Domboshava, home to the 2 Field Regiment.<\/p>\n

The movement of such military assets in a civilian area drew comparisons to the 2017 military intervention that led to Mugabe\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n

For many, the sight of these vehicles evoked memories of that unprecedented event, where the military played a pivotal role in a coup that changed the course of Zimbabwe\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

Once an unthinkable scenario, the notion of a military coup is now a topic openly discussed in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Government officials on Wednesday sought to calm the public after two columns of army vehicles were spotted on the streets of Harare, sparking fears of a potential military coup. Videos of the military vehicles quickly went viral, reigniting memories of the events of November 2017, when a similar display of military power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":104924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1579,6140,19,17977],"class_list":["post-104925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-military-coup","tag-november-2017-military-coup","tag-zimbabwe","tag-zimbabwe-military-coup-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of "Routine Drill" - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Government officials on Wednesday sought to calm the public after two columns of army vehicles were spotted on the stree ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of "Routine Drill"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Government officials on Wednesday sought to calm the public after two columns of army vehicles were spotted on the stree ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-20T19:54:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-20T22:56:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/02\/sm_1740076248.773759.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"674\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Government Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of “Routine Drill”\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-20T19:54:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-20T22:56:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\"},\"wordCount\":364,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/02\/sm_1740076248.773759.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Military Coup\",\"November 2017 Military Coup\",\"Zimbabwe\",\"Zimbabwe Military Coup 2017\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/government-officials-say-army-vehicles-on-harare-roads-part-of-routine-drill\",\"name\":\"Government Officials Say Army Vehicles On Harare Roads Part Of \\\"Routine Drill\\\" - 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