WAR veterans on occupied commercial farms have turned in fellow invaders to the police after discovering they are bogus ex-combatants receiving monthly gratuities for the past four years. Last week, two suspected phonies, Paul Mugwagwa and Nathaniel Sibanda, were arrested by the fraud squad after they were exposed by their colleagues in Marondera. In 1997, the government, seeking to appease restless war veterans, paid Z$50_000 each to people believed to be ex-combatants. Since then, the veterans have received monthly gratuities of $4_000 each. The exercise, implemented despite expert advice that the country could not afford such generosity, cost the government about Z$2,5-billion. But some beneficiaries are believed to have taken advantage of the flawed and corrupt vetting process. Inspired by the payments, bogus war veterans joined in the farm invasions which started in February last year. – Daily News