Alarming evidence has surfaced from the current wave of protest crackdowns in Tanzania — spent bullet casings stamped “ZW”, denoting manufacture by Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI), have been recovered from several scenes where civilians were shot.
The ZW headstamp is the official factory mark for ZDI, Zimbabwe’s state-owned arms producer based near Harare, known for supplying the Zimbabwe National Army and regional security forces. The discovery strongly suggests that Zimbabwe-made ammunition has been used — or supplied — in the ongoing suppression of Tanzanian demonstrators.
Former Zimbabwe National Army weapons instructor Shepherd Yuda (@ShepherdYuda4) said:
“They are likely imported — or the actual gunmen are Zimbabweans.”
Ammunition experts confirm that the recovered rounds are 7.62×39 mm calibre, typically fired from AK-pattern rifles used by riot and military units. The bullets’ identical ZW factory markings point to a single source: Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
The presence of ZDI-manufactured rounds in Tanzania’s domestic security operations raises grave questions about regional arms transfers, SADC military cooperation, and potential cross-border deployment of personnel.
Human rights monitors are urging an independent forensic audit to trace the bullets’ serial batches and confirm whether they were sold to Tanzania officially or moved through covert regional channels.
As eyewitnesses continue to document the shootings, these shell casings — etched unmistakably with “ZW” — now stand as forensic proof linking Zimbabwean ammunition to Tanzanian bloodshed.