The Zimbabwean government provided the 5th Brigade with meticulous records of ex-ZIPRA deserters and demobilized ZIPRA personnel, who were to be detained for questioning. While the brigade's directives specified a search for ex-ZIPRA guerrillas, it failed to differentiate between those affiliated with ZIPRA and the same movement's political wing, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). Prior to the deployment, this attitude had been reinforced by the alleged discovery of arms on several ZAPU properties, leading to the mass dismissal of ZAPU officials from the government and the arrest of senior ex-ZIPRA army officers. In March 1983, 5th Brigade troops ransacked the home of ZAPU chairman Joshua Nkomo, shooting three of his domestic staff during the raid. The 5th Brigade's commander, Perrance Shiri, perceived all ex-ZIPRA troops, including those employed in the civil service or the ZNA, as potential dissidents. Detention by the 5th Brigade was arbitrary and extrajudicial killings of ZIPRA veterans became frequent.