Report on political violence in Bulawayo, Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands

July 29, 2000

Contents   « Bulawayo

Harare

Violence against opposition party office bearers and supporters

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Case 9: Budiriro
On 11 May I happened to be moving around. I saw Zanu PF people were at the shops having a meeting. They asked me: "Where do you come from." I said Budiriro 2. I’m here to see a person". I was not wearing an MDC T-shirt, but I am an MDC member. They said I was an MDC spy. I was taken to Dr Hunzvi’s surgery and there I found two young boys, aged about 17-20 who had been caught on a rally. They had no T-shirts or cards. They were also from Budiriro.

When I got inside I was given a paper on which to write all of the structures of MDC, the Chairman, organising secretary, MP etc. As a member I have never participated, and didn’t know anything. They detained me from just before 12 midday on Thursday to around 1.00 pm on Friday. They were beating me and using electric wires. They changed over, sometimes there were three, sometimes two. They took our clothes. Three of us were locked, all naked, in one room. Three people could be hitting one person at a time. I have wounds from wires all over my body.

At around 11.00 pm on Thursday night, they took us out into the yard inside the wall around the premises, but outside the house. There were a good number of them, more than forty. They wanted us out so they could sleep inside. We were guarded outside. I was beaten. I can’t hear with this ear and someone stuck his finger in my eye. I could identify only one person who resides in Budiriro. I have known him since about 1996. Most of the guys are Ndebele speakers.

Some of the people at the surgery are war veterans, others are not. The last guy who released me is a soldier from Mutare. Even around 12 midnight where we were. He was near us just outside, trying to get them to release us. During the day the police were not allowed inside the wall, but at night they were allowed to come and take victims out. Those young guys were not released because they wrote down some names of those in the party structures. They were kept and told that they would be released if the other guys whose names they had mentioned were found and brought in. I was allowed to go, but the others were not. The policeman remained inside and continued to try and persuade them to release the others. I made a report to the police and they gave us letters to go to hospital.  TOP