outposts, mining compounds, and old Rhodesian military bases repurposed into makeshift detention camps. Conditions in the camps quickly deteriorated due to overcrowded and inadequate facilities. Allegations of politicisation The 5th Brigade has been frequently criticised for its apparent political nature. Responding to an inquiry about North Korea's role in the unit's formation, then-Prime Minister Mugabe simply stated that "they were trained by the North Koreans because we wanted one arm of the army to have a political orientation which stems from our philosophy as ZANU-PF". Zimbabwean Minister of Home Affairs and chief opposition figure Joshua Nkomo denounced the formation of the 5th Brigade as being politically motivated; he believed Mugabe was using the unit to intimidate his opponents and secure the forcible implementation of a de facto one-party state. Historian Paul Moorcraft claimed the 5th Brigade was "marked by its fanatical ideological loyalty to Mugabe...[it] was run from the prime minister's office and was answerable only to Mugabe". Another historian and noted sociologist, Ronald Weitzer, found that the 5th Brigade was perceived as being "highly politicised and loyal to the government, poorly led, and palpably anti-Ndebele". References External links History of Matabeleland including the actions of the Fifth Brigade there Some of the material here is drawn from a report compiled by the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJP) entitled "Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace. A report on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980 – 1989". Zimbabwe: What Britain and the West did – and didn’t – do during the Matabeleland massacres of 1983-4 Institute for Security Studies, Demobilisation and Reintegration Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, The post-colonial state and Matebeleland: Regional perceptions of civil-military relations, 1980–2002 Military units and formations established in 1981 Military units and formations disestablished in 1988 Military units and formations established in 2006 1981 establishments in Zimbabwe Military units and formations of Zimbabwe Military units and formations of the Cold War