Testimony from an MDC member who
reported an assault at the end of May gives the following account of what is happening in
the Murehwa area:
This was not the first incident in my area. Two days before, these
people came. They attacked about ten people in the area. Some were beaten by electric wire
or bicycle chains. There are Zanu (PF) youths based in the Muparadzi grinding mill. They
go round the area each night and collect all the youths at around 6.00 pm. They take them
to the mill where they hold pungwes all night until the morning around 6.00 am. They also
take young girls of around 15-16 years old or more to the pungwes where they stay the
whole night. One of my brother’s daughters, Patience, was taken by them. She is 15.
The girl initially failed to explain what really happened there, but some of the
prostitutes in the township have been and have told us that it is really bad at the
pungwes. It is said they are forcing the girls to have sex. They are taking the girls and
abusing them.
An MDC member reported a rape and attempted rapes from Uzumba Maramba
Pfungwe as follows:
After we went out campaigning in the constituency for MDC, all hell
broke lose. I was attacked on 18 April. It was after 11:00 pm. and I was watching TV with
a friend, at my house. There was a knock at the door and my colleague went to see who it
was. I then came out to the veranda. When I got out I saw a group of about 15 people
wearing Zanu (PF) T-shirts. They asked for our MDC T-shirts and cards. We said we had
neither except ZimRights T-shirts. I am an ordinary MDC member, but I didn’t want to
show my card. One of the group stays at the bus stop near my school. More than half of the
group came from Chitimbe. The others came from Macheke and were based at the ZexCom office
in Murehwa. I know because during the interrogation they boasted that they could do
anything since they came from as far as Macheke, where they had killed David Stevens. But
they are not the ones, none of them was a war vet, they were just mere youths. They
started assaulting my friend. He managed to elude them and then ran away for the night. I
couldn’t leave my wife and child. They handcuffed me and began assaulting me. They
demanded to search the house and I agreed. My wife was still asleep. They went into the
bedroom and slapped her. She woke up and put on her clothes. I was standing in the
doorway. One of the youths said you won’t be beaten if I have sex with you. He was
pulling her underpants, tearing them (these were given to the police as evidence of the
attempted rape). Another youth brought my wife outside then they beat her with sticks. She
pleaded with them. One of the youths remarked that she is "only a cook for these
thugs". They told her to get inside and lock the doors. She asked where they were
taking me. My T-shirt was torn and I was bleeding, my face was swollen. She did go inside
but then she realised that the youth who had tried to rape her was still inside and she
screamed. He came out of the bedroom and she locked the door.
My main assailant I know well. They took me about 50 metres from the
house and assaulted me badly. Then I recognised one of the others who was from Murehwa
growth point and he recognised me and told the others to stop assaulting me. They took me
with them to another house. They demanded T-shirts, cards. They began assaulting him. One
youth got in and I could see through the window that he pulled out a knife and raped the
wife of the owner of the house.
When they were through, they went to the next house. I was handcuffed.
The lady refused to open, but they kicked the door open and broke her toe. It was a woman.
They wanted to rape her. She screamed. The other youths called the one who was attempting
to rape her. They then asked me to take them to the UMP Pastor’s house and asked me
which party he supported. I told them that he was not political. When we got there they
tried to open the doors to the Pastor’s house, but couldn’t. They took me to the
house of the school Deputy Head. He had been warned and had fled to the bush. They did not
see anyone so they went to the house of another teacher who gave them a T-shirt through
the window. One jumped in and began assaulting her. She had a black eye and swollen face
when I saw her the next day. Of the other teachers, some had got away. They managed to get
another T-shirt from a man who could be an MDC sympathiser, but not openly. He has three
cuts on him as a result of the assault.
Then they beat me again and left me near my house. This was around 2:00
am. I knocked and my wife opened. I saw that they had gone to a house two doors down. They
set fire to a car. They must have left around 3.00 am.
The police came early in the morning and gave us the medical report
forms. They were told houses were burnt in the villages that night so they had to leave.
We realised it was no longer safe to be at that place. The police officer told me it was
not advisable to stay. He told me to leave as soon possible and to find somewhere to put
my property. We took some of our belongings and got the bus to Harare. They have made some
arrests. The member in charge even wanted to detain people over the Easter period, but he
couldn’t. He has told me he would like to see the law maintained, but he thought he
might have to leave his job because of the tough stance he is taking. He expected at least
to be reprimanded by his seniors.