adminThe course held during the weekend sought to help the officers appreciate fully the importance of culture in enhancing national security.
The officers drawn from Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and Botswana undertook the studies at Chief Fortune Charumbira’s homestead in Mudavanhu Village.
The soldiers went through various aspects of the Shona culture such as payment of lobola, the operations of the traditional chiefs’ court and the role of village heads among other cultural issues. They were treated to various types of traditional dishes and brews to help them understand the various aspects of the day to day communal life of the Shona people.
Chief Charumbira said the two-day cultural training course was important in enhancing national security. The Zimbabwe Chiefs’ Council president said it was important for security forces to understand the culture of the people they would be protecting.
“We feel culture is a very integral part of national security because you cannot successfully protect people when you are not familiar with their culture so understanding a people’s culture is a very important aspect of enhancing national security in any country. Culture is what makes people different from each other and there cannot be people where there is no culture so when the security forces are protecting and defending people, it means they are also defending their culture,” he said.
Online Reporter