Abduction Victims Afraid To Report Fearing What Happened To Mamombe And Colleagues - Mahere
Fadzayi Mahere, a Member of Parliament for the Mt Pleasant constituency, expressed concern that people who have been abducted and tortured are scared to report their ordeal to the police. She said they fear the government will treat them like they did with Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, and Netsai Marova. These three individuals claimed to have been abducted and tortured by suspected state security agents, but the State accused them of faking their abduction and were arrested for spreading lies. The case against them is still ongoing.
Recently, another MP from the opposition party, Takudzwa Ngadziore, along with former MP James Chidhakwa, claimed they were abducted, tortured, and injected with an unknown substance. Ngadziore’s abduction was recorded live on Facebook before he was taken to Mazowe, where he was tortured and left naked.
The public expressed outrage over the incidents on social media. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) stated that they are trying to contact Ngadziore to gather more information about the alleged abduction. In a short statement on X, the ZRP said:
The ZRP has been keenly following an allegation of abduction and torture on Social Media. The Police inform the public that no such case has been reported. We are trying to make contact with the alleged victim so as to elicit the facts beyond what is on social media.
Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana, said investigations on all matters including those around the unverified pictures and video clips are also underway. He said:
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We have been keenly following an allegation of abduction and torture trending on Social Media. We have also been handling a number of Media Inquiries on the same matter. We are liaising with the @PoliceZimbabwe who advise us that no such case has been reported to them so far. They also informed us that they are trying to make contact with the alleged victim so as to get more facts about this case, as currently they only have Social Media chatter to go by. They will issue a more operational statement in due course. Thank you.
Dr Walter Mzembi, a former Tourism Minister who is currently living in exile, stated that it didn’t make sense for the police to wait for a report from Ngadziore when there is clear footage showing the alleged perpetrator carrying an AK47 rifle. He said:
Is @PoliceZimbabwe so complacent let alone our security forces that they will wait for a Police Report when there is footage of people marauding with AK47 Assault Rifles in suburbs substituting them in their role unless the only explanation being that they know the people in the footage and it was an authorised operation?
Former PetroTrade board chair, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka suggested that the said footage was no admissible evidence in a court of law. He responded to Mzembi:
Ahh, Minister! Footage doesn’t mean it’s a crime, it could be a film being shot. Are you saying the police should investigate things based on tweets? Will we be safe?
In response to Nick Mangwana’s statement saying police had not received any report, Mahere said the victims were afraid of what happened to Mamombe and colleagues. She said:
Last time, Joana, Cecilia and Netsai reported their abduction and torture. You guys turned on them. They were arrested and prosecuted for “communicating falsehoods.” The perpetrators went free. This is why we describe you as a violent, corrupt dictatorship that offends the Constitution at every turn. Your call for a police report to be made is not bona fide at all.
In the past, authorities have made claims suggesting that people who reported being abducted were possibly staging the abductions themselves in order to damage the government’s reputation. They have also suggested that there could be a “third force” that was responsible for carrying out these abductions in an attempt to tarnish the government’s image.
