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Zimbabwe: Low Voter Turnout in Harare Suburbs
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SW Radio Africa (London)
27 June 2008
Posted to the web 28 June 2008
Mandisa Mundawarara
The people of Harare today stayed away from polling stations, with reports of queues with 'no more than five people.'
Thabani Moyo told us that he had visited polling stations in the suburbs of Mabvuku, Mufakose, Chitungwiza, Mbare, Mabelreign, Marlborough, Bluff Hill and Eastgate.
Most of the people that he spoke to said that they had gone to the polls 'out of fear, and to protect their lives.' There are reports that the war vets were conducting operation 'Pasi pechigunwe,' where they were checking people's fingers for the indelible ink to make sure that they had voted.
He described Harare as looking like a 'ghost town' today with most people staying home to avoid trouble.
Thabani also reported that people in Chipinge who voted at a polling station situated in an open space close to the RBS grounds were being asked to give their ID numbers and house numbers, and their finger prints were being taken. The polling station was being manned by war vets.
Thabani also told us that independent journalist Frank Chikowore and his cameraman 'Edgar' were arrested in Highfields as they were filming Mugabe voting. The two were taken to nearby Southerton police station. According to Thabani, their lawyer Harrison Nkomo was unable to locate the two, and the police at both Southerton and the Law and Order division could not say where the two men were being held.
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We later spoke to someone at MISA who confirmed that Frank Chikowore had been arrested along with his camera man, Edgar Mwandihambira. She also said that a female correspondent and Reuters camera man Donald Maisiri had been arrested. Donald had been picked up Friday morning by a group of ZANU-PF youth. Wilbert Mandinde, a lawyer with MISA, confirmed that the four journalists had been arrested but they have all since been released without charge.
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