Caiphas Chimhete, Bertha Shoko, Sandra Mandizvidza and John Mokwetsi
19 April 2008
Harare — THE MDC has claimed that 10 of its supporters have been killed, 3,000 internally displaced while scores of others have been injured by soldiers, war veterans and youth militia in retribution for voting against President Robert Mugabe in last month's election.
In the rural areas, war veterans and Zanu PF youth militia have gone on the rampage, beating up MDC supporters and torching their houses and killing their livestock for food.
In towns and cities, heavily armed police and soldiers have virtually imposed curfews, beating and torturing anyone they come across.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said the escalating violence targeting MDC supporters around the country "is very disturbing and depressing".
Chamisa said at least 10 MDC members had died in political violence. Four of the victims died last week, he said.
He named them as Tapiwa Mubwanda of Hurungwe East, Murunde Tembo of Mudzi North, Tendai Chibika of Mutoko East and Moses Bashitiyawo of Maramba Pfungwe.
The Standard could not independently verify the deaths.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told The Standard the MDC "should not claim their supporters were killed by Zanu PF supporters" as the police were still investigating all cases of political violence.
"I only know the case of a person who was killed in Hurungwe and the police are still investigating the case.
I am not aware of the other three people you are talking about but we are investigating," he said.
Chamisa said: "There is chaos in this country. We are very worried about this retribution campaign by Zanu PF. The violence is well-coordinated from the top and is being fuelled by hate speeches by the president of this country. This is how the genocide in Rwanda began, through such hate speeches."
More than 20 MDC supporters are in hospitals in Harare alone with broken arms, hands, and head injuries after Zanu PF militia and war veterans attacked them.
The MDC said the violence was widespread and had created a humanitarian crisis, particularly in the rural areas.
Some have fled their homes to stay with relatives in urban areas. Others, said the MDC, were destitute after their houses were burnt down.
"As we speak more than 3 000 families have been displaced with at least 800 homes burnt down. All this is happening because of the vacuum created by not announcing the presidential election results but the courts are not concerned about this," Chamisa said.
The MDC secretary for social welfare, Kerry Kay, yesterday appealed to individuals, non-governmental organisations for any assistance they could provide to the internally displaced people.
She said Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo had been thronged by MDC activists fleeing from Zanu PF militia and war veterans in the rural areas.
In Harare's high-density areas, scores of people have for the past week been brutally beaten by heavily armed soldiers and the police. Among the most affected suburbs are Kuwadzana, Glen View, Glen Norah, Budiriro, Epworth, Dzivarasekwa and Chitungwiza.
The security forces have virtually imposed a curfew, forcing the closure of shops at 6PM and beating up anyone they see in the streets after that time.
Even those returning from work are not spared.
"I was going home from Kuwadzana IV shopping centre on Wednesday around 6PM and some soldiers approached and accused me of stoning a commuter bus," said Gannet Shapiro of Kuwadzana. "One of them clapped and kicked me in the legs repeatedly."
In another incident, soldiers pursued a dreadlocked man and used a bread knife to cut off his locks because "they made him look bigger than everyone else".
In Mabvuku, Bernard Chapingidza lost his cellphone in a beating that followed after he got off a commuter bus.
"After they butchered my backside with rubber rods they assaulted me with clenched fists. This was after I asked for my phone, which I lost in their melee."
Chapingidza had scars all over his body and his left eardrum might have been ruptured. He could barely walk.
Last week, MDC polling agents fled their homes in Glen View as the army tracked them. The soldiers confiscated MDC T-shirts and thoroughly beat up people.
On Wednesday, soldiers reportedly beat up patrons at a bar around 8PM in Dzivarasekwa III. According to eyewitnesses the soldiers told people to "go home and sleep with their wives rather than spend time discussing plans to overthrow Mugabe".
On Thursday around 7PM The Standard witnessed a group of soldiers harassing civilians in Glen Norah.
"What are you doing at this hour?" the soldiers could be heard shouting. "Run or we will beat you."
A young woman from Glen View told of how she was brutally beaten by the soldiers.
"I was coming from town. The soldiers approached me and asked if I was married. When I said I wasn't they beat me up, telling me not to loiter around like a prostitute," she said, asking not to be named.
On Wednesday evening at a bar in Chitungwiza, armed soldiers forced patrons to lick beer spilled on the dirty floor and perform 50 press-ups, before beating them up.
One victim, Stephen Mutiti (27) said: "It was a horrible experience. Just imagine licking beer from the floor in a public bar!"
Mutiti suffered multiple bruises all over the body.
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Sorry that you are racists and are blaming the whites here but Zimbabwe's problem lies with Mugabe and His regime. As for the farms give them back to the proper owners. The people in Zimbabwe are already dying at the hands of Mugabe and his regime b/c if you are not for him you are liable to die.......
The western world is not your problem here so the blame can lie on Mugabe and his evil regime. I am unimpressed with the Africans leaders not doing anything other than talking which is getting nowhere....
People are busy blaming whites about the Zimbabwe's demise, because using attribution is always very easy scapegoat, when one fails to look at his own shortcomings.This is proof that Mugabe's propaganda is believed by many of his followers in and outside of Zimbabwe.Mugabe became a bad leader before he even began farm invasions, before Zimbabwe was under sanctions,Mugabe was already showing what kind of a bad leader he was.When, we people of Matabeleland tried to air our grievances, Mugabe decided to use Korean trained soldiers to instill a sense of fear and bullying in our lives by killing thousands of Matabeles.He began to deprive the people of Matabeleland economical by appointing all his leutenants to Senior government positions in Matabeleland, despite there being Ndebeles in the region who were qualified to occupy such positions.Some of Matabeleland MPs who had now become Zanu-PF through the Unity Accord tried to reson with Mugabe on these issues, but he would not listen.He went on to relocate Company Headquarters that were based in Matabeleland for strategical reasons, to Mashonaland.This was in order to make sure that Ndebeles had no chance to occupy any senior roles in these companies. Besides, during his tenure as President, Bulawayo began to decline more than what it used to be under the Smith regime. Up to this very day Smith contributed more to Bulawayo's infrastructural development than Mugabe.MP's from Matabeleland such as Joshua Malinga, Welshman Mabhena and Sydney Malunga became Mugabe's principal enemies because they always reminded him about his obligations to develop Matabeleland and Bulawayo in particular. Because of their insistence on this issue they were rewarded by either death or being dropped from the Cabinet. Mugabe always thought anyone trying to champion a cause related to a particular tribe was a tribalist.Up to this very day Mugabe still thinks people of Matabeleland are tribalists, but this writer begs to differ, people of Matabeleland have always realised that Mugabe is a vindictive and violent leader.If they were tribalists they will not support Tsvangirai who is also a Shona himself.Most people are beginning to see how evil Mugabe is now,but for us in Matabeleland we have always known how dangerous Mugabe is not only to the people of Matabeleland but to all those who dare oppose him. Mugabe views himself as a god, infallible and unquestionable.His leadership style is almost similar to that of Tshaka Gumede(the early king of the Zulus).He believes that he earned this deity because he orchestrated one of the gruesome liberation struggles in Southern-Africa, but Mugabe forgets that there are some people who played crucial roles in the struggle who are not even in his cabinet today.To justify that the issue of sanctions and land is not responsible for Zimbabwe's downfall (but Mugabe's leadership,) under his patronage within the past 28 years Mugabe has been sympathetic to his Cabinet ministers who have been involved in corruption, because he controls the Courts.He would go lengths even to interfere with verdict of their cases and protect them from heavy prosecution. No wonder why he has with-held the election results today. Our Judiciary institution is laughable to say the least, because it is partial and always serves interests of the ruling party.It is always a foregone conclusion that if you raise a case against a Zanu-PF official you will loose.This is why there is need for change in Zimbabwe, we can not live under such injustice for any longer. At some point Mugabe tried to take some foreign owned Companies and one of these was G&D shoes in Byo which eventually became an enterprise for Phillip Chiyangwa.As soon as this gentleman took over workers did not get their wages on that very month, infact their pay was a pair of shoes.The company eventually went into liquidation in less than a year.Now, could anyone tell me if this is the man that should remain our president because he defeated Ian Smith, infact he was even not alone when he waged that war, it was ZIPRA and ZANLA.I was fortunate to have had an interaction with both of these liberation heroes.Honestly these people did not fight for land, only they also fought for freedom from ignorance, from prejudice, from poverty, reconciliation, tolerance and respect for our different opinions.Human beings will never have a single way of thinking in their enitre existence,the only form of thinking that should not be tolerated is that which renders harm to others,either physically or psychological.If today a new paty could be formed to oppose Zanu-PF, Mugabe will quickly discern the underhand tactics of the West being active in the formation of that party.To him anyone who tries to oppose Zanu is an agent of the West,That is what I call delusionary behaviour and paranoia.This behaviour is very manifest if a person reaches the age of 80 and above.The host does not normally realise that his behaviour would be overtly display ing this inclination.Zimbabwe is not only a country of the chosen few, it is a country for the down throdden too from Zambezi to Limpopo and from Victoria Falls to Nyamapanda.
Zimbabweans should learn to solve their own problems. I understand that the government do not want to be told what to do by the western countries, and its true its not their place to tell them what to do. Where the Government is wrong is, they did not redistribute the land properly when they took it away, the top officials abuse the government funds,there is too much corruption. If they want people to change their minds they have to address these issues. They have to think of the welfare of their people before they think of themselves because they have done so for a long time.
I am American by birth but I have lived in Brasil as well as visited Europe and Aasia and now live in Africa. I totally agree with much you have said but this exists in many countries of Africa and this problem is not addressed anywhere. Then sadly some people of these countries have the same mindset b/c they have poor examples in leadership... I would love to see the issue of corruption addressed in every area but know that is not happening. Zimbabwe is their problem but Mugabe excepts nothing but his way so that will not be resolved in his country. He is resolving that issue by torturing and killing the opposition supporters. African leaders are doing nothing so I just ask on behalf of the people in Zimbabwe that any of the world leaders step up and put an end to this problem which means removal of Mugabe and his regime either by their choice or force..
MDC is following western ountries what they are dictating him, he will put his voters in danger and that what the westerners want to happen in Zimbabwe because they always pushing people telling them we'll behind you and when the fire will start all of them will step back and zimbabweans will found themselves dying like flies,Mugabe is stopping them to get their piece of cake from Zimbabwe now what they are creatintg is to revolt all zimbabweans against Mugabe and his government which is not what Mugabe can't stand there and wait so he will punish those who want to bring insecurity that is what is happening today, Zimbabweans please solve your problem in peace do not follow what the westerners are telling you, Mugabe is a human being he made mistakes as everybody ,so do you think he is there to kill his people ,he is trying but in this capitalism world every oppenet wants to take over , we have a race to the power,but with all the goods things Mugabe did to his people today they are just like nothing benefits happen to them ,they forget,everythinh from the colonial,up to day,what the fat man with big nose will do than Mugabe ? I do not think so,i believe in one year people of zimbabwe will suffer a lot more than what they are suffering now because the source of suffering comes some where,you know where ,so the new president will bring the rain to fall as like old year to take away the drough , ,so he will give back the farms to white people when aboriginal need them,for local ,because white people export all things from theirs farms by accumulating millions in theis pockets or bank account,they do not produce for the local ,so tell me why not to give some of those farms to zimbabweans aboriginal? who produce to feed local people ? you all are sick who listen the fat man with big nose working for westerners.