Report on Election-Related Political Violence in Chikomba

September 19, 2000

Contents

• Introduction
• Violence and the holding of elections
• The current by-election
• Presence of known perpetrators in the constituency
• Parliamentary Election 2000 violence
• Conclusions

1. Introduction

This brief report has been produced to underscore the difficulties in accepting that elections, be they by-elections or the Presidential election, can be free and fair in the current situation. The persistence of organised violence and torture seem to mitigate against any acceptance that the conditions for holding elections are even close to desirable. The current by-election in Chikomba constituency provides an interesting case study of the electoral process in Zimbabwe currently.

The Chikomba constituency was won last June by Dr Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi, amid allegations of organised violence and torture. Dr Hunzvi received 13,417 votes as against the 6,776 votes received by the MDC candidate. An election challenge was immediately mounted in the High Court, seeking to set aside the result. Before the petition could be heard by the High Court Dr Hunzvi died and a by-election was consequently ordered. The by-election will take place this weekend (22/23 September), and, although the early campaign has been peaceful, the violence has been increasing over the past few weeks.

2. Violence and the holding of elections

It was generally concluded, at the end of the 2000 General Election, that the polling had been significantly affected by the organised violence and torture of the pre-election period. It was also noted that the two polling days were free in the main of any violence, and it was concluded by most observers that the proceedings of voting were mostly acceptable by international standards. However, it was not possible to quantify the effects of the organised violence and torture on voting as a whole, and these effects are currently being examined during the course of the 37 petitions before the High Court. A number of results have been set aside because the courts held that the organised violence and torture had significantly affected the result.

It has been a concern of the Human Rights Forum that the violence of 2000 would have effects on subsequent elections. This was particularly so in view of the Clemency Order of October 2000, the major effect of which was to pardon the many perpetrators of the organised violence and torture. As the Forum has pointed out recently in its report, Who was Responsible?¹, the majority of those pardoned had serious allegations of torture made against them and were massively from the ZANU (PF) party. The perpetrators remain at large and their presence is a continual reminder to all the thousands of victims of the violence they experienced and the dangers of subscribing to any political view apart from ZANU (PF). It is already the case that some of the perpetrators mentioned in our report are being mentioned again in connection with the organised violence and torture reported during by-elections. It is also the case that persons not covered by the Clemency Order have not been arrested in the main, and not even credible investigations carried out by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

Thus, there must be serious evaluation of what will constitute free and fair elections against this background. There are a number of factors that must be considered in accepting the outcome of any election in Zimbabwe:

• The extent of pre-election violence in the current election;
• The presence of identified perpetrators in the constituency during the pre-election period and the voting;
• The extent of any previous organised violence and torture in any other recent election in the constituency.

It should not be thought that the effects of organised violence and torture are confined only to the period in which they occur. There is an enormous body of evidence to show that the effects, particularly the psychological effects, are extremely persistent and long-lived, and will have determining consequences on the victims' behaviour for years often. Thus, when epidemics of organised violence and torture occur in quick succession, it will be very difficult to determine how these will affect complex social behaviour. It is extremely likely that voting will be affected when there are successive outbreaks of organised violence and torture.

The point at issue here is the probability that the organised violence and torture of 2000 will have effects upon subsequent voting, especially when such violence continues. It is certainly the case that there is a dose-response effect for organised violence and torture: the more often one experiences such violence, the more likely that a person is to develop a trauma disorder. Thus, it is important to understand that continuing violence will reinforce the effects of the previous experience with organised violence and torture, and, if this violence is associated with elections, that this may result either in the lowering of people's desire to participate in political life, or an unwilling compliance with the perpetrators to avoid further violence. Neither situation accords with the basis for free and fair elections.

The forthcoming Chikomba by-election provides an interesting case study, since all three conditions mentioned above are fulfilled.

3. The current by-election

Dr Oswald Ndanga is the MDC candidate for Chikomba constituency. He is contesting the by-election after the death of Dr Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi, the MP elected in the 2000 General Election. It is significant that Dr Hunzvi was mentioned in two reports from the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) as being involved in organised violence and torture: the one report dealt with torture during the 2000 General Election², whilst the other dealt with torture during the Bikita West by-election in January 2001³.

Dr Ndanga registered his candidacy for the by-election at the nomination court held on 16 August 2001. An objection to his candidacy was raised due his non-appearance on the voters' roll for Chikomba, but this was resolved in a court action where it was shown that he held a registered voters card and had been previously registered in the constituency.

The campaign for the by-election began very quietly with public statements from all parties that the election would be peaceful. This did appear to be the case for the early weeks, and there were no reports of violence or intimidation.

From 30 August, the peaceful nature of the campaign was altered. A vehicle, clearly marked with ZANU (PF) (Mashonaland East), was seen driving around the constituency. In the vehicle were 17 men, including two locals from Chikomba who were identified by local people. This vehicle was reported at the scene of several abductions of MDC supporters, and at least four of MDC supporters abducted were subsequently tortured. Details of these cases are given below.

Subsequently, Victor Mugazi, headmaster of Maronda Mashanu Secondary School, fled into hiding after his wife was severely tortured by suspected ZANU (PF) supporters, and Felix Mazava, another headmaster, was murdered, again by suspected ZANU (PF) supporters.

Dr Ndanga recently received credible information that there would be an attempt made on his life, and went into hiding on 8 September. He was informed that Phillip Bako, a war veteran related to him, had been instructed to lure him to Bako's home where the assassination was to have taken place. Subsequently, Bako visited the Ndanga homestead, seeking to see the candidate, but was prevented from doing so by relatives of Dr Ndanga. Bako has subsequently filed charges of assault against these family members, but these charges are denied by all the accused. Various members of Dr Ndanga's family were subsequently arrested by the ZRP in a very hostile arrest during which the ZRP fired shots in the air despite there being no provocation. The accused were taken to Chivu and Sadza police stations, and all but two have been released.
Dr Ndanga has subsequently received further information that he is still being sought by ZANU (PF) supporters and that his life remains in danger. ZANU (PF) held a rally about 500 metres from his family home this past weekend (16-17 September), and members of his family were pressured to attend. During this time, the ZRP entered his home and searched the premises without a valid search warrant.

Other cases:

A number of other cases have been reported during the recent run-up to the Chikomba by-election, and there are as yet unconfirmed reports of significant violence taking place in the areas surrounding Chivu in the past few days.

* On 3 September at Sengwe Business Centre, T.M., E.M. C.M. and another victim were apprehended by ZANU (PF) youths whilst in a shop. They were bundled into a twin cab 4x4 written that had ZANU (PF) Mash East written on the side. They drove 40 kms until they reached the District's Heroes Acre. They were shown the graves and told that those buried had died for the Zimbabwe that the MDC supporters wanted to sell to Tsvangirai. They told them to take off their clothes and beat each other up with a whip. The ZANU (PF) supporters told them they were not doing a good job so they took over and beat them until they could not walk.
As they beat them, they accused the MDC supporters of selling the country to the whites. They also verbally abused them, made threats against them and their families, and threatened them with sexual abuse. T.M. was assaulted on both thighs with a sjambok, and slapped on both cheeks. E.M. was assaulted with baton sticks on his buttocks and the back of his thighs. After the assailants had finished beating them, they drove away. T.M. walked to the MDC base for help so he could return for those who could not walk.

* On 10 September E.C. went to Chivhu to visit his sick brother whilst in the company of his other brother. A group of about eight ZANU (PF) youths took them to the local hall for interrogation. They assaulted E.C. and his brother from about 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. with baton sticks. At about 7 a.m., they were handed over to the army who continued to beat them until 10 a.m. The CIO took over and threatened them. He has abrasions on his back and arms, and arm pain as a result of the attack.

* On 10 September T.D. was abducted from his home by a group of seven policemen and later handed over to the CIO (Manwrio, Mukoki, Masocha and Gumbo). They beat him all over the body with baton sticks from about 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. At one time they threw him into the Ziragwe River to drown him. After he was released, he took a bus to Harare. As a result of the attack, he has scars on his leg, back, shoulders and stomach, and experiences pain in his shoulder.
The CIO operative, Masocha, was named as a perpetrator of organised violence and torture during the 2000 General Election (see Appendix 1).

Witnesses for the Election Petition

There have been a number of persons who sought to testify in the election petition on Chikomba that were threatened or tortured by supporters of ZANU (PF). This violence must count as significant pre-election violence.

NC:  In April 2000 N.C. saw a group of 15 girls in ZANU (PF) t-shirts at Sadza Growth Point. One of the girls shouted "garwe" and then he found himself surrounded by some young men. One of them kicked him on the left leg and he stumbled, but he managed to escape and ran home. He heard that he was being looked for, and at one time saw a T35 lorry with ZANU (PF) youths watching his house. He began to move from place to place because of fear.
He returned to Chikomba on Saturday 11 March 2001 after having submitted statements to lawyers. People had warned him that the police were looking for him and that he should go to the station to surrender. He went to the police on 12 March, and the assistant member in charge opened a book with a list of names. His name was read from the book of "wanted" persons. The police started assaulting him with the help of four others. They beat him with axe handles and a cooking stick. Some also used booted feet and punched him all over the body. They beat him for 20 minutes. They asked him to collect all MDC material and surrender it to them. He left the police station and went to Sadza Hospital where he received treatment. The assistant member in charge who had initiated his beating came to the hospital and harassed the health workers for treating him. He also threatened to shoot N.C. if he left Chikomba without telling him. As a result of the attack, he experiences backache, deafness in right ear, and a painful right arm.
N.C. was assaulted at Sadza Growth Point on 4 April 2001 after he escorted NGO forum lawyers to assess the situation in Chikomba. He was beaten with booted feet and fists all over the body. As a result of the assault, he experiences backache and headache.

PC: In April 2000 P.Z. was approached by ZANU (PF) supporters whilst at work at Sadza Growth Point. They demanded MDC t-shirts and cards, threatening to beat him up or kill him if he did not comply. On another occasion in April they beat him up, slapping him and hitting him with fists, tearing his shirt and trousers.
In May he was abducted on three occasions. In the first instance, he was taken to a police officer. The police officer threatened to beat him up and was looking for a whip when he was disturbed by a phone call, so P.Z. was able to escape.
The second time he was abducted from his home by three ZANU (PF) youths and taken to the council beer hall grounds to a room where he was slapped, beaten with fists, and sat upon. They accused him of being a white man's puppet. He escaped when they allowed him to return home to lock up his house.
On the third occasion in May he was again abducted and taken to the fields by three ZANU (PF) youths and was ordered to sit in the grass and not scratch as insects bit him or he would die. He sat for about an hour. When he was allowed home his goat shed had been burnt and two goats were dead and some missing. His chicken run was burnt and out of 200 chickens, only 20 remained.
On the polling days in June, he was twice chased from his duties as a polling agent and found boxes tampered with. He was threatened with death by a police officer who showed him three bullets meant for him.
On 10 March 2001 ZANU (PF) supporters beat him again. He experiences joint, chest, and jaw pains. He has been in ill health since all these incidents and has had a chronic rash since being sat in the grass.

MM: M.M. alighted from a bus he had just taken from Harare in June 2001, when he was immediately accosted by a mob of youths in ZANU (PF) t-shirts. They shouted that he was selling the country and that they would destroy his home. They beat him with a pick handle, hoe handles, and an iron bar. He sustained swelling of the right shoulder and left knee. He managed to escape and moved from Chikomba.

Assault of lawyers: The Chairperson of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) was assaulted along with a witness in the parliamentary election petitions in ZANU (PF) instigated violence in the Chikomba constituency on Saturday, 7 April. Two lawyers working for the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum narrowly escaped. In a letter to the Commissioner of Police in Harare, Mr. Tawanda Hondora, of ZLHR, stated that members of ZANU (PF) assaulted him while police watched. Mr. Gabriel Shumba and Mr. Godfrey Mupanga, both of the Forum, managed to escape but were threatened with assault when they arrived at the local Sadza Police Station to make a complaint.
The three had travelled to Chikomba, in the Mashonaland East province, to investigate allegations of intimidation and assault directed at witnesses in the election challenges currently before the High Court. Mr. Hondora is representing Peter Kaunda, the MDC candidate for Chikomba, who is contesting his defeat on the basis of abuses directed at MDC supporters and electoral irregularities.
They arrived at Sadza Growth Point and soon noticed a crowd wearing ZANU (PF) t-shirts and army attire assembling in the area. Mr. Shumba went for the car in case violence occurred while the other two stayed behind to witness the rally. The crowd soon started chasing after one of Mr. Hondora's witnesses, Nelson Chivanga. The assailants were armed with stones, axes, knobkerries and other weapons.
At this point the crowd turned on the three men saying that they were outsiders and calling them 'sell-outs' and 'stooges of the white man'. Mr. Hondora was caught and beaten. Mr. Shumba managed to escape and was hidden by a resident of a nearby homestead. Mr. Mupanga managed to drive away to safety.
At the time that Mr. Hondora was caught, Mr. Chivanga was already being severely beaten. Mr. Hondora was hit, kicked, slapped and whipped. He sustained bruises to his head, a possibly broken jaw, a bloody nose, a cut lip, lacerations and his molars have been weakened which caused him difficulty in consuming solid food for days afterwards. In addition his glasses were broken and his clothes were torn from the attack.
The three met up at the Sadza Police Station. Mr. Shumba and Mr. Mupanga went to make a complaint and discovered that Mr. Hondora was already there with Mr. Chivanga. Both men asked to be taken to a medical clinic but their request was refused. While in detention they were beaten further, searched and interrogated as to their affiliation with the MDC. Mr. Hondora alleges that Constable Cuthbert Mapfumo held him while he was being assaulted and that Constable Moses Zhakata participated in the assaults. Also present were Constable Mafandizvo, Constable Masaringo and Constable Nikisi. Assistant Inspector Majora ordered all police officers present to be armed with rifles and live ammunition. The rifles were pointed at the four men. In addition the men produced documents that identified them as officers of the court but these documents were swept to the floor and ignored.
Majora took Mr. Shumba and Mr. Mupanga into an adjacent room and lectured them on his view of the MDC. He asked how, as educated men, they could be used by white people. In addition he had their car searched and threatened to call war veteran leader Chenjerai Hunzvi, other war veterans and the army to 'discipline' them. After these incidents, which took about three hours, the men were released.
The three men made a report to the police in Harare when they returned. The Sadza Police Station was phoned for information but officials there denied any such event took place. It is significant that Assistant Inspector Majora was mentioned as being involved in organised violence and torture during the 2000 General Election, as was Constable Mapfumo (see Appendix 1).

4. Presence of known perpetrators in the constituency

As will be seen from Appendix 1, a number of perpetrators were identified during the 2000 General Election. The most notorious of these was the deceased MP, Dr Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi.

Not only was Dr Hunzvi mentioned by victims from Chikomba constituency, but he was also mentioned in connection with torture in Budiriro and Bikita West. Victims from both of these two constituencies were examined by international experts, and the findings conclusively establish that torture took place. Dr Hunzvi was not mentioned as personally involved in torture at his Budiriro surgery, but it seems inconceivable that he was unaware of the events taking place there. Dr Hunzvi was directly implicated in the torture that took place in Bikita West, and this was torture not covered by the Clemency Order of October 2000. No charges were brought in respect of this second set of violations against Dr Hunzvi.

Thus, the mention of Dr Hunzvi as being involved in torture in Chikomba must have a strong element of plausibility at the least.

There are many other names mentioned by Chikomba victims of the 2000 General Election violence. At least three of these names have re-emerged subsequent to the election. Assistant Inspector Majora and Constable Cuthbert Mapfumo were both named as being involved in the unlawful arrest and assault of lawyer Tawanda Hondora, whilst CIO operative Masocha was named as being involved in the torture of TD (see above).

There must be serious apprehensions about the effect of so many persons being previously involved in organised violence and torture being at large in the constituency. This is reinforced by the evidence indicating that some of these perpetrators are being named again. That the presence of such persons will have an effect upon the past victims and their families cannot be doubted, and raises important questions about the climate in which this by-election is taking place. The situation is undoubtedly worsened by the continual statements by members of the Government that no result apart from ZANU (PF) victory, in whatever election, will be acceptable, and indeed are likely to lead to more violence⁴.

1 See Zimbabwe Human Rights Ngo Forum (2000), Who was responsible? Alleged perpetrators and their crimes during the 2000 Parliamentary Election period, Harare: Zimabwe Human Rights Ngo Forum.

2 See IRCT (2000), Organised Violence and Torture in Zimbabwe, Harare and Copenhagen, 6th June 2000, Copenhagen: Irct.

3 See Eppel, S, Draminsky Petersen, H, & Legg, W (2001), "Organised election violence in Zimbabwe 2001", Torture, 11, 50-55.

4 See the Appendix relating to statements from political leaders in Zimbabwe Human Rights Ngo Forum (2001), Politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe 2000-2001. A report on the campaign of political repression conducted by the Zimbabwean Government under the guise of carrying out land reform, Harare: Zimabwe Human Rights Ngo Forum.

Next: Parliamentary Election 2000 violence

TOP