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A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Homicide reaction team was told not to probe Tawanda Muchehiwa’s abduction by their Law and Order counterparts, a The NewsHawks report claims.
The publication reported sources saying the Homicide department rushed to the scene of Muchehiwa’s abduction soon after the kidnapping had taken place as it is its role to look into cases of armed robbery, murder and hijackings.
When they contacted the Law and Order to share notes on the crime and to ask if they were aware of the case, they were told to leave the case alone. A source is quoted as having said:
<blockquote>When they rushed to the scene they did an assessment and the preliminary investigations indicated that it was not a robbery, if anything it pointed to a kidnapping.
The Homicide department then contacted the Law and Order to share notes on the crime and to ask if they were aware of the case. The Law and Order said ‘iyo siyanai nayo’ (leave the case alone).</blockquote>
The Homicide department reportedly concluded that Muchehiwa’s abduction might have been a <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Ferret_Force" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ferret</a> operation as Ferret teams include members of the Law and Order department as well as members of the Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI), personnel from the army and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Muchehiwa was abducted in broad daylight in Bulawayo by armed men who went on to torture him for three days before dumping him close to his home with severe injuries. The torturers accused him of planning to bomb buildings and public infrastructure.
<h4>More: <a href="https://thenewshawks.com/ferrets-operation-abduction-torture-muchehiwa-tries-to-commit-suicide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The NewsHawks</a></h4>

Pindula News

CID Homicide Told Not To Investigate Muchehiwa Abduction - REPORT

Mduduzi Mathuthu, the editor of online publication ZimLive.com and uncle to Tawanda Muchehiwa, the 22-year-old journalism student who was abducted and tortured by suspected State agents on 30 July this year, says MDC Alliance (MDC-A) Bulawayo provincial chairlady, Tendai Masotsha, is a traitor who once had someone killed.
Posting on Twitter this Wednesday, Mathuthu accused the MDC-A of carrying out a shoddy investigation into Masotsha’s involvement in Muchehiwa’s abduction, saying the party got distracted by factional fights. Below is Mathuthu’s thread in full:
<blockquote>Tawanda Muchehiwa was abducted and tortured by state agents. This is not rocket science. Tendai Masotsha, who entered her guilty plea over that affair through the audio since released, was left unmolested by an incompetent inquiry by the MDC-A which got bogged down in G40 fog.
How MDC-A, through Gatsheni Gatsheni, injected G40 and internal factional fights into a simple and straightforward matter of infiltration and treachery boggles my mind. There’s no G40 ghost, no factional fight involved. She acted alone and should have been dealt with as such.
In her audio, she said she told Jameson Timba to communicate something to me. Timba told me the said conversation never happened. She is a blackmailer, rapacious fortune seeker and bloody agent who should have been outed long before Tawanda got hurt.
On the same day that she met Tawanda for the first time, on July 28 – not through his organisation, mind – she went to a place where #ZanuPFMustGo masks were being printed. Two minutes after she left the police arrived. Cde [Mthulisi Hanana] will confirm this.
It is also true she once got someone killed. Her husband was away, returned home and found the cattle herder, a relative, in bed with her. Husband killed the poor fella. I only bring this up because it addresses issues of moral deficiency.
I still pray the MDC Alliance will come out and reject her false, dangerous claims she made against Tawanda, a young 22-year-old whose crime is yearning for a better Zimbabwe. It’s lies because [Nyasha William Gwazemba] was there, never heard it. There’s no sabbatical for traitors.
<img alt="Tendai Masotsha" class="alignnone wp-image-188319 size-full" decoding="async" height="707" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px" src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tendai-Masotsha.jpg" srcset="https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tendai-Masotsha.jpg 526w, https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tendai-Masotsha-223x300.jpg 223w" width="526"/></blockquote>

Masotsha A Traitor, Immoral, Blackmailer, Bloody Agent & Rapacious Fortune Seeker - Mathuthu

Exiled former cabinet minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has dismissed the opposition MDC Alliance (MDC-A) report on its investigations into the Bulawayo provincial women assembly chair Tendai Masotsha’s alleged involvement in the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa.
Masotsha was implicated in Muchehiwa’s abduction by suspected State security agents in Bulawayo on 30 July but a probe by the MDC-A exonerated her.
Posting on Twitter on Friday morning, the former G40 kingpin published what he called “facts” on Muchehiwa’s abduction. He wrote:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>[Tendai] Masotsha brings flyers, sits with [Tawanda Muchehiwa] in a BMW.</li>
<li>CIO’s Muzembe abducts Tawanda from BMW, throws him into an Isuzu; Masotsha sees it all.</li>
<li>Advent and Amandlenkosi [Mathuthu] arrested for Masotsha’s flyers and are put in an Altezza.</li>
<li>Muzembe and Masotsha drive in the BMW to Bulawayo Central Police Station!</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Addressing the media on the alleged Masotsha’s involvement in the abduction of Muchehiwa, MDC-A ‘s Jameson Timba said the Bulawayo provincial chairlady was also an abduction victim. Timba said:
<blockquote>… It appears therefore on the face of it that State agents had put Tawanda under surveillance over a long period of time and before he had even met with Tendai Masotsha.
This evidence was also corroborated by the written submissions made by Tendai Masotcha</blockquote>
Meanwhile, the ZimLive editor, Mduduzi Mathuthu, who is an uncle to Muchehiwa, dismissed the MDC-A probe into Masotsha as “shoddy”.

Prof Moyo's "Facts" About Masotsha's Involvement In Muchehiwa Abduction

Investigative journalist Mduduzi Mathuthu was on Tuesday engaged in a war of with MDC Alliance (MDC-A) secretary-general Chalton Hwende after the party exonerated Bulawayo women’s assembly chairperson Tendai Masotsha of involvement in the abduction of Tawanda  Muchehiwa, a journalism student at Midlands State University.
Muchehiwa, a nephew to Mathuthu, was abducted by suspected State agents on 30 July and tortured for three days before he was dumped close to him home, battered and bruised.
Posting on Twitter, Mathuthu challenged the MDC-A leadership to come clean over the abduction of Muchehiwa. He wrote:
<blockquote>Been through a hellish few months. MDC-Alliance SG Charlton Hwende has not helped the situation.
He told the MDC standing committee last week, while defending Tendai Masotsha, that I’m pursuing a ‘G40 agenda’ against his party.
I pray the MDC has more sophisticated ways of addressing issues of this nature. It cannot be sufficient to dismiss victims as G40 while pursuing a shoddy investigation.
I got frustrated writing this. My nephew is tortured near death, and Mr Hwende thinks I’m out to get his party.
Was Masotsha working for the MDC-Alliance chief? I don’t recall your party claiming parentage of July 31. Why don’t you let her carry her own cross?</blockquote>
Hwende however, denied protecting Masotsha saying his job was not to protect individuals but the party.
He also accused Mathuthu of working with the G40 faction to weaken the opposition party. Said Hwende:
<blockquote>My job is not to defend individuals, but party positions. The report on the investigation of Masotsha was presented, debated and adopted by the party leadership.</blockquote>
Muchehiwa was seized from his cousin’s vehicle, Advent Mathuthu in broad daylight by men who claimed to be police officers.
He was in the company of Masotsha who said she had brought flyers for anti-corruption demonstrations that were planned for 31 July.
After his release from captivity, Mucheiwa accused Masotsha of being involved in the whole in his abduction.
The MDC-A proceeded to appoint an investigation committee and suspended Masotsha who has since been found innocent of any wrongdoing.
Political pundits believe the MDC-A is heavily infiltrated by State and ruling party agents who identify activists who they then hand over to the so-called <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Ferret_Force" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ferret Force</a> for torture.

Mathuthu Slams MDC-A Over 'Shoddy' Masotsha Probe

The MDC Alliance said the tribunal that conducted an inquiry into the alleged involvement of its senior official in the abduction of a Midlands State University (MSU) journalism student will present its findings on Monday.
Tendai Masotsha, the MDC Alliance Women Assembly Chairperson for Bulawayo Province, was implicated in the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa on 30 July 2020 in Bulawayo.
Muchehiwa was severely tortured by his captors over a three-day period and suffered extensive damage to his kidneys.
The opposition party had promised to reveal its findings in August but had remained mum hitherto, which has prompted a flurry of conspiracy theories.
In a statement this Friday, the MDC Alliance said it will host a press conference on Monday at the Media Centre to announce the tribunal’s findings. The statement read:
<blockquote>On Monday, 16 November 2020, the tribunal that conducted an inquiry into the alleged involvement of National Council member, Tendai Masotsha, in the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa will present its findings at a press conference at 14.00hrs to be hosted at the Media Centre.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2020/08/27/i-felt-the-gun-on-the-back-of-my-head-i-had-made-peace-with-death/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In his account</a>, Muchehiwa said on the day he was abducted, he received a call from Masotsha, who said she had flyers that could be used in the 31 July protests and wanted his help in distributing them. He wrote:
<blockquote>At around mid-morning on July 30, my cousin Advent Mathuthu was driving to a hardware shop on Fife Avenue Extension. I asked to accompany him.
While in town, I received a call from Masotsha, who said she had flyers that could be used in the protests the next day. She parked her vehicle and jumped into our BMW, carrying only a handbag.
… Advent was in a rush and needed us to secure the material at the hardware shop, so he drove off and we agreed we would drop Masotsha by her car on our return.</blockquote>
While seated in his cousin’s car with Masotsha, unidentified men approached the duo, told Muchehiwa that he was under arrest and spirited him away leaving Masotsha in the car.
Muchehiwa further revealed that after his abduction, his two cousins were arrested and later released yet Masotsha, who had apparently brought all his troubles, was let go.
His captors also taunted him, saying while he was being tortured, Masotsha was comfy at her home.
This has led to suspicions that Masotsha either voluntarily or under duress led the abductors to Muchehiwa.

MDC-A: Masotsha Inquiry Report To Be Released On Monday

The Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), Siphosami Malunga said it is worrying that the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance has remained silent on allegations that one of its senior officials was involved an abduction case.
The MDC Alliance Women’s Assembly Chairperson for Bulawayo Province, Tendai Masotsha was fingered in the abduction of journalism student Tawanda Muchehiwa on 30 July this year.
Posting on Twitter, Malunga said the MDC Alliance’s handling of the case is deplorable and party members should be worried. Malunga wrote:
<blockquote>Considering that so many of its own members have been targeted, suffered and continue to be victims of abductions, the MDC-A handling of the Tawanda Muchehiwa abduction and alleged role of its Bulawayo Chairperson Tendai Masotsha is deplorable. I’d be very worried if I was its member.
The delays, long silences, inaction, indifference by the [MDC Alliance] to such serious allegations [in the matter of Muchehiwa] against [Masotsha], a senior leader of its organization leaves so much to be desired.
It should by now have long cleared her or confirmed the allegations and expelled her.</blockquote>
On the 13th of October 2020, MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende said the report on Masotsha would be tabled at the party’s National Council Meeting that month but up to now, there has been no announcement made.

MDC-A Challenged To Come Clean On Muchehiwa Abduction

The opposition MDC Alliance (MDC-A) is not yet ready to make public a report on the investigation of its senior official who was allegedly involved in the abduction of Midlands States University (MSU) journalism student, Tawanda Muchehiwa.
Tendai Masotsha, the Bulawayo MDC Alliance women assembly chairperson, was suspended by the province for her alleged involvement in the abduction of Muchehiwa by suspected State agents on July 30 in Bulawayo.
MDC-A spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere told NewsDay that the official report was almost ready. She said:
<blockquote>Would it be possible for us to wait for it to come out? I would not want to pre-empt anything.
In fact, it would be improper for me to do so taking into account the constitution and due processes.</blockquote>
The party’s secretary-general Chalton Hwende on Thursday confirmed that the report had been submitted to the party’s national council for scrutiny.
The MDC-A had promised to release the outcome of the investigation within 48 hours, but several months later, the report on the probe is yet to be made public.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/11/abduction-mdc-alliance-still-probing-party-official/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

MDC-A Probe On Tendai Masotsha Yet To Be Finalised

MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende has said the party’s women assembly’s chairperson for Bulawayo Province Tendai Masotsha will know her fate soon following the conclusion of investigations into her alleged involvement in the abduction of a journalism student on 30 July this year.
Tawanda Muchehiwa, a Midlands State University (MSU) second-year journalism student was abducted by 5 armed assailants in Bulawayo ahead of the July 31 anti-corruption protests and tortured for three days.
Masotsha was suspended by the MDC Alliance Bulawayo Province on allegations that she was involved in Muchehiwa’s abduction.
Hwende revealed that a report on the party’s internal investigations into Masotsha’s alleged involvement was only submitted to the party leadership this week for debate at the national council (NC).
Hwende added that the matter has been tabled before the NC since Masotsha is a senior member, and the NC is the only body that can discuss that matter and take appropriate action. Said Hwende:
<blockquote>We understand people are anxious, but it is also necessary for us to afford Masotsha an opportunity to present her side of the story and be properly treated in terms of the party constitution.</blockquote>
In his account, Muchehiwa, who is the nephew of ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu, insinuated that Masotsha set up his abduction.
Masotsha has denied the allegations, saying they were concocted to fight her along factional lines.
She claimed that she was also kidnapped on the same day as Muchehiwa and later dumped close to her home the following day.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/10/abduction-mdc-debates-officials-involvement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

Muchehiwa Abduction-linked MDC-A Official To Know Fate Soon

A leaked security document has shown that the State security establishment is reportedly planning to track and attack perceived opponents of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
The document reveals that those targeted are local and foreign-based journalists, ex-security officers, ex-Zanu PF and opposition politicians.
According to a NewsDay report, the document is based on the minutes of a Joint Operations Command (JOC) meeting held on 10 August this year.
It was compiled on August 20 and copied to directors of the Zimbabwe Military Intel Corps (MIC), Air Force of Zimbabwe Intelligent Corps, Police Intelligence and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZCPS) Intel.
The document discloses the names of individuals who were under constant surveillance for allegedly working against and sabotaging the government.
Contacted for comment, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told NewsDay that he was not aware of the document.
The minutes showed that the meeting resolved that all those who spread hate-speech and anti-government statements communicating violence by the government like ZimbabweanLivesMatter and ZanuPFMustGo hashtags should be tracked down and arrested.
The meeting noted the “successful” arrests of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume.
Some of the listed individuals identified as the peddlers of misinformation about the country include, among others, ex-Central Intelligence Organisation member Philip Nyevero, who is accused of releasing official secrets, Shepherd Yuda ex-ZPCS member, former Zanu PF youth leader Jim Kunaka, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa and ex-military member Albert Matapo.
Ex-Zanu PF youth commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu, Tajamuka’s Promise Mkwananzi, journalists Edmund Kudzayi, Mduduzi Mathuthu of <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZimLive.com</a>, Lance Guma and Simba Chikanza of ZimEye as well as Kelvin Sikhosana a member of the Special Air Service and MDC Alliance’s Stephen Sarkozy Chuma are also on the list.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/10/securocrats-scale-up-surveillance/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

Leaked Document Reveals Individuals Under State Security Watch

Thandekile Moyo, a Gwanda-based human rights defender, has revealed how Tawanda Muchehiwa’s abductors attempted to lure her into a trap using his phone.
Muchehiwa, a 22-year-old journalism student with the Midlands State University (MSU), was abducted by unknown gunmen outside a hardware shop in Bulawayo on 30 July, a day before planned anti-corruption protests.
The abductors who are suspected to be State agents used five cars to trail Muchehiwa and seized him while he was seated in his cousin’s car with Tendai Masotsha, the Bulawayo women’s chairperson of Zimbabwe’s main opposition, the MDC alliance.
Moyo said Muchehiwa was her book research assistant and had told her a few days earlier that he was being followed by unknown people. Moyo wrote for the Daily Maverick:
<blockquote>On Thursday morning, the day before the much anticipated 31 July protests, Tawanda and I discussed our plans for the protests.
He then disclosed to me that he had been talking to Samkeliso Tshuma, another activist. I was excited to hear that because I knew not many people would be brave enough to take to the streets.
Later that day I received information that Tawanda might have been arrested. Their cars had been seen parked outside Bulawayo central police station.
At around 5 pm, my phone rang. I checked the ID and it was Tawanda. But something was off; first of all, Tawanda and I mostly communicate with WhatsApp messages, secondly, we never “direct call” each other because we all know that our phone lines are bugged. We only call via WhatsApp.
Thirdly, Tawanda had been MIA all day, and we suspected he had been arrested, so if he was arrested, how was he calling me?
I then decided to answer the phone in case it was a distress call or some kind of SOS. I answered and asked him if he was okay, to which he said yes. He had the most bizarre thing to say. He told me “the posters” were ready and I should come and see them.
“What posters?” I asked.
He couldn’t explain. He said just come and see them. I then told him to let’s talk on WhatsApp. He protested that request and said his network was bad but I insisted and he had no choice but to agree.
A few seconds later I was on the phone with his uncle, Zimlive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu, to whom I relayed the information that Tawanda had called me and he shouted “Do not go. It’s a trap. They have Tawanda. The police are at my house as we speak.”
Never have I felt so defeated in my life.
I checked my phone and discovered several missed calls from Tawanda again, this time on WhatsApp. I knew it was a trap.
But I couldn’t talk to him. I don’t remember if I called him back or if he called but we spoke again. I asked him where he was and he responded with uncertainty.
I got the sense someone was telling him what to say. He sounded different, I could tell he was under duress. He was also addressing me in an uncharacteristically casual manner, flippantly – he’s usually so respectful, I can’t explain it but the whole conversation confirmed my worst fears, Tawanda had been abducted…</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-28-missing-witness-to-an-abduction-part-one/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daily Maverick</a></h4>

Thandekile Moyo Reveals How Muchehiwa's Abductors Tried To Trap Her

Opposition parties and civic groups have warned the government that alleged abductions and tortures and the continued blitz on defenceless citizens by suspected state agents are putting the country’s peace at stake, The Standard reports.
The matter came to light when the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) director Jestina Mukoko while commemorating the International Day of Peace which is usually held every year on September 21 said:
<blockquote>…More importantly, Zimbabweans emphasised that citizens are not each other’s enemies. Peace is not just the absence of war, but the existence of an enabling environment, where human and people’s rights are realisable.
Sadly, this year, while the Zimbabwean government was supposed to foster unity, rallying all in the fight against the common enemy Covid-19 it used this period to unleash terror on citizens who dared speak out.
In addition to understanding that human rights actors and political activists are not enemies, but have an important and justifiable constitutional role in advocating for accountability,</blockquote>
Meanwhile, MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo echoed Mukoko’s sentiments and said:
<blockquote>The peace of Zimbabweans locally and abroad is at stake. Our peace is under threat from the state. The illegitimate regime has become our stumbling block in attaining peace in Zimbabwe. As citizens we need to pursue our own peace because it is the backbone of individual and national developmen
We join all nations to commemorate this year’s International Peace Day. Both political and socio-economic peace is under threat. Education and health care systems have been destroyed. Political space has been shuttered. The human rights and fundamental freedoms is now a taboo in Zimbabwe. The generation ahead of us is plundering and destroying our resources and robbing Zimbabwe’s future</blockquote>
A victim of abduction and torture Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said:
<blockquote>The world should bridge the inequality gap to build sustainable and genuine peace. Our education systems should be used to uplift livelihoods not just to train labourers.
In the Zimbabwean context, the underpayment of teachers and other workers at a time when the ruling elites are enjoying executive luxuries is a serious threat to peace. The state repression we are witnessing is driving citizens to the edge</blockquote>
The Civic Groups and opposition parties sentiments come when <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2020/09/19/ed-taunts-critics-says-sadc-leaders-laugh-at-reports-of-crisis-in-zimbabwe/">the government is denying that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe. </a>
More: <a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2020/09/27/zim-peace-at-stake-despite-absence-of-war/">The Standard </a>

Abductions & Torture Reports Putting The Country's Peace At Stake - Civic Groups

MDC Alliance (MDC-A) president Nelson Chamisa has demanded an independent inquiry into the alleged abduction and torture of Harare West MP Joanna Mamombe and party activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova by suspected State agents earlier this year.
Chamisa made the remarks after Deputy Chief Magistrate Bianca Makwande jailed Mamombe at the country’s notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison even though she was granted bail by the High Court.
The MDC-A leader argued that the State cannot be trusted to deliver justice for the three MDC-A activists since it was implicated in their alleged abduction and torture. Said Chamisa:
<blockquote>The unlawful detention and sending to Chikurubi maximum prison of Youth leader and MP Hon Mamombe is another new low, a classic case of continuing victimization. It is clear that the State which is implicated in this case can not deliver justice. We demand an INDEPENDENT INQUIRY!
This continued persecution of these emblems of change is a direct threat to democratic tenets and freedom. Oppressors fear the power of the future that the young women represent. We stand with the young and fearless. We fight for their right to dignity, freedom and justice.
The MDC trio represents what Zimbabwe could be if we made room for the NEW. They are women of courage and conviction. The trio and all young people are the embodiment of a New Zimbabwe we can create in which young women can freely participate in political activity and nation-building.</blockquote>
<a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2020/09/26/zlhr-approaches-high-court-for-mamombes-immediate-release/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has since filed an urgent application with the High Court seeking the immediate release of Mamombe from prison.</a>

Chamisa Calls For An Independent Inquiry Into Mamombe's Abduction & Torture

Suspected Stage agents on Friday assaulted several journalists who were attending a media conference hosted by <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwe_National_Students_Union">Zimbabwe National Students Union</a> (ZINASU) president <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Takudzwa_Ngadziore">Takudzwa Ngadziore</a> near <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Impala_Car_Rental">Impala Car Rental</a> in Harare.
Godwin Mangudya, Thomas Madhuku, James Jemwa, Bernard Mpofu and Munashe Chokodza were attacked and their equipment confiscated and destroyed.
The men who attacked ZINASU members and journalists were in plain clothes.
A picture of Ngadziore lying on the ground after the attack, battered and bruised went viral yesterday.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told NewsDay that he was not aware of the assault and “would find out”.
In a statement following the unprovoked attack on students and journalists, the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwe_Human_Rights_Association">Zimbabwe Human Rights Association</a> (ZimRights) condemned the barbaric incident.
ZimRights also demanded that Impala Car Rentals provide information and help expose those who were responsible for the abductions that have been taking place in the country.
An Impala Car Rental vehicle was used in the abduction of a <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Midlands_State_University">Midlands State University</a> (MSU) student, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Tawanda_Muchehiwa">Tawanda Muchehiwa</a> in July.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/09/journos-assaulted-at-press-conference/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

Zimbabwean Journalists Attacked And Equipment Destroyed At Press Conference

MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has dismissed a video flighted by State-owned broadcaster ZBCtv on Wednesday which claimed that MDC Alliance activists – Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova – faked their alleged abduction.
In a post on Twitter, Mahere said the video was fake as it has too many gaping holes, more so the fact that ZBC alleges that the MDC activists faked their abduction, s_xual assault and torture, yet national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed to the media that they had been taken into police custody on the 13th of May, the day on which they disappeared.
Mahere asks why it took four months for ZBCtv to produce the “evidence” that the three faked their abduction and why the police have not explained what happened to the three after their arrest on May 13.
Read the full thread below:
<blockquote>The FAKE video produced by Nick Mangwana alleging that the #MDCTrio faked their abduction is shameful propaganda. ZRP spokesperson, [Assistant Commissioner Paul] Nyathi confirmed they were arrested and in POLICE CUSTODY on 13 May. How could they be in Belgravia when they were in police custody?
The FAKE video does not explain how the #MDCTrio left the custody of the police (as admitted by Paul Nyathi) and ended up beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted at Muchapondwa Business Centre. It is the State and police officers that handed them over to the abductors!
The FAKE video is a hatchet job by the State designed to cover up their culpability for abducting, sexually assaulting and torturing Joanna, Cecillia and Netsai. Mangwana doesn’t produce a shred of medical evidence to back the outrageous LIES that the ladies weren’t injured!
The FAKE video is a desperate attempt by the regime to manage the international condemnation that followed the abduction, torture and sexual assault of the #MDCTrio. No action has been taken against the perpetrators yet the trio is being persecuted for speaking out.
The FAKE video is full of gaping holes – like how we are expected to believe 5 people were served in a record 1 minute!! Remember, this is the moment ZRP Spokesperson Nyathi ADMITS the #MDCTrio has been arrested and is in police custody – the afternoon of 13 May!
The FAKE video is intentionally blurred. One cannot even identify the persons therein or see the number plate of the car. Is this hogwash meant to stand up in a court of law? It took them FOUR months to concoct this!
The FAKE video makes reference to a car that shows up on the 16th – a LIE! Who parked it there? Why do the police not know when and how it got there? When the police arrested the trio on the 13th of May what did they do with their car?
The FAKE video LIES that Cecilia’s mother comes from Muchapondwa. She does not! This a fabrication. She comes from Museri Village in Chiweshe. The authors just made this up along with the rest of the false narrative to create the impression that there’s a “coincidence.”
The FAKE video pretends that the #MDCTrio suffered no injuries. Yet in this video [embebbed in this thread], Cecilia is receiving an intravenous dose of mannitol because she had suffered brain swelling.
In the FAKE video, they lie that the #MDCTrio ordered food from their car at Chicken Inn Belgravia. Since when can you order food from Chicken Inn Belgravia when you are (i) outside the shop, (ii) in your car? Since when do they come and take your order? Embarrassing lies!
The FAKE video was aired by ZBC TV in clear breach of the SUB JUDICE rule. The #MDCTrio‘s case is still pending before the courts yet ZBC has displayed contempt of court and prejudiced the trial by flighting the doctored video. ZBC must be prosecuted for contempt!
In what capacity is ZBC TV determining that the abduction of the #MDCTrio was a hatchet job? Is this not a matter for the courts? Why are they violating the sub judice rule and playing judge, jury and executioner? Why not wait for the courts to decide?</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://twitter.com/advocatemahere/status/1303780877122572295" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fadzayi Mahere on Twitter</a></h4>

Mahere Debunks ZBCtv Video Of MDC Trio's 'Fake' Abduction

In the morning of September 1, I [Nickson Mpofu] wrote the following on Facebook:
<blockquote>“As promised, tomorrow I will be publishing names of ministers who are working in cahoots with car rental companies to loot public coffers. One minister leased out eight cars to one prominent car rental company located along Chiremba Road in Harare. All his cars are being rented by different departments in his ministry. The minister has a large pull of cars and CMED is also providing them with cars but preference is being given to renting these cars (owned by the minister). Every month minister vakutora lots of buck #ZimbabweanLivesMatter.”</blockquote>
My post excited quite a discussion, and anticipation as well from my friends on Facebook because the car rental company in question – Impala Car Rental – was in the news at the time after one of their vehicles was used in the abduction and torture of university student Tawanda Muchehiwa in Bulawayo.
I had received information from a reliable source that Zanu PF ministers, and some other connected individuals, are leasing out their vehicles to car rental companies like Impala. The same individuals then collude with civil servants in charge of procurement in their departments to rehire the same vehicles to cover shortfalls in their ministries.
How companies like Impala work is that while they may have their own pool vehicles, they also take vehicles from individuals for onward leasing. It is possible that if you left your vehicle with them, they can call you at the end of the month and say your vehicle was not hired out, so you have not made money that month.
This scam, however, works in such a way that the said ministers and other connected individuals who may be spouses of powerful people ensure that their vehicles are always hired out.
Typically, the charges include a fixed daily cost of hiring out the vehicle – say US$200. The first 100km is free, after which the customer pays US$1 for every kilometre travelled.
It is a scheme which has guaranteed rich pickings for these ministers to a point that CMED, the state company responsible for maintaining the government fleet and which should be doing the hiring of vehicles to cover any shortfalls in government departments, is now seeing its cars rejected in favour of vehicles from hire companies like Impala.
At the end of each month, the ministers, senior civil servants and other connected people are collecting small fortunes from milking the Zimbabwean taxpayer.
You would imagine auditors would unravel this, or at least the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission would take an interest, but this has not happened. The corruption is brazen, and I have no doubt that when properly investigated, #Impalagate will expose some of the most systematic looting of government coffers by those who took an oath to, among other things, safeguard public finances.
So, back to September 1. Much of my day passed off uneventfully.
Sometime after 9 PM, however, I was on the phone talking to a friend in the United Kingdom when I heard a knock on the door. He suggested I drop the phone and check.
I looked out through the window on the road at the front and there was no vehicle there. So I asked who it was, thinking it was perhaps one of my neighbours in Chitungwiza where I live.
After enquiring who was at the door, I heard male voices saying “arimo” (he’s there). One of them spoke.
“Police! We need to ask you a few questions, open up.”
“Which police station,” I asked?
They pretended not to hear that question.
“We just need to talk, and then we will leave.”
I offered to follow them to the station in the morning. The dialogue had ended. They started kicking the door trying to break it. I knew I was in a lot of trouble.
My wife works in Bulawayo, and I live with my son who is four and my sister’s child who is eight years. The disturbance at the door frightened them, and the young one started crying.
As the door kicking was going on, one of the men threatened to break a windowpane and throw a teargas canister inside to smoke me out.
The determination to force me to come to that door and their willingness to suffocate my family left me in no doubt these men meant business, and they were not here for a chat over a cup of tea.
Out of options, I opened the door. As I did, five armed men stormed the house and immediately pinned me down. I was handcuffed almost immediately.
They dragged me out, almost lifting me because I’m quite small. They escorted me behind our house where they had parked their vehicle, which I recognised as a white Nissan Caravan.
Inside the vehicle, there were no seats at the back. They threw me in, and then four of the men sat two apiece either side of me.
They said they were taking me to Makoni Police Station, but they were driving on the main road to Marondera. Moments later, I observed that we were going past the Makoni turn, and I asked them if there had been a change of plans.
One of the men then told me our house falls under Dema Police, so that’s where we were going. That got me concerned. I had heard horror stories of Zimbabweans who had been abducted and I never imagined one day it would be my turn – and yet here I was, at night being driven to an unknown destination surrounded by men claiming to be the police, but who clearly lack all the professional courtesies of the real police.
I braced myself. I had one last opportunity to save my life, I thought. If the men were telling the truth that we were going to Dema, then we would be passing a tollgate and there normally are police officers there. My plan was to scream as we got there, attracting attention.
But some 100 meters from the tollgate, my heart sank when the vehicle turned left on a dirt road normally used by vehicles avoiding paying at the tollgate.
They drove on up to what I thought were the banks of the Hunyani River. We never crossed the river because there’s no bridge.
The vehicle came to a stop and they opened the back door of the Caravan. They pulled me out and chained my leg to the tow bar on the rear bumper. The beatings started almost immediately. They were repeatedly striking me under the feet using baton sticks.
In-between the beatings, there would be momentary pauses to ask me questions. Any “wrong” answers or “I don’t know” invited more severe beatings.
The men wanted to know who my sources were in government for the things that I write on Facebook. I told them I don’t have a source in government. Much of the stuff I put out there, I said, I gleaned from Twitter.
How many times had I been to the United States embassy?
They also told me they had information that I was part of the organisation of anti-government demonstrations that were planned for July 31. They wanted to know where we held planning meetings, and which places we intended to bomb.
I had nothing to do with the July 31 protests planning, I have never been to the United States embassy and I have never seen a bomb of any kind with my naked eye. Yet here I was, any attempts to answer this honestly would just increase my pain.
I couldn’t make up stories at the moment, so I told them my truth: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
They insisted I was lying. And as if playing a video game, I had unlocked the next level of brutality. I was now being punched and clapped while one of my captors kept at the task of delivering targeted violence to the soles of my feet.
They got tired of beating me, eventually. It was now after midnight.
They forced me to give them my phone password and they started going through it. They had a set of numbers they came with, which they would dial and if that number appeared on my phone, I had to explain my dealings with that person.
“Job Sikhala is a terrorist, why do you have his number?”
“Is he the one that was sending you to make petrol bombs?”
They also had Godfrey Tsenengamu’s number, and when they couldn’t find it on my phone they asked anyway if I had ever met him.
I had WhatsApp numbers for the BBC and CNN, the ones they display on screen through which viewers can send comments or news tips. They demanded to know what I had reported to the BBC and CNN.
After some time, they stopped and moved to the front of the vehicle.
I was almost freezing now. They had taken away my jacket. My comfort was not their concern.
Then, for the first time, the driver came out of the vehicle. He came to the back where I was and told me his mother is a ‘Mhofu’ (Mpofu totem), and so I was like an uncle to him. He told me he was not part of these men but had only been hired to drive them.
“Politics is a dangerous game, these guys can kill you,” he told me. “Just give them the information they want.”
Then asked me which football teams I support, and where my rural home is. I told him I come from Zvishavane. He said his relatives had lost jobs when Shabanie Mine closed down, and he began telling me stories about working as a driver transporting illegal gold panners in Zvishavane.
In between these personal stories, he would be asking me identical questions as those of his colleagues.
After a while, he realised I wasn’t giving much information. The one he wanted anyway.
“You can’t be helped,” he said resignedly. Like Pontius Pilate, he was washing his hands of me and handing me back to his vicious colleagues.
The four men returned, and they were now very angry and vicious. They stripped me naked.
They said on Facebook I pretend to be a strong man, and it was now time to prove that. One of them then started pulling my testicles and penis with his bare hands. The pain was nothing I have felt before. I screamed.
“You’re killing me,” I cried out.
“Yes, we want you to die,” came the reply.
One of them told me when they had done killing me, I would be pushed down one of the burrows on the banks of the river and no-one would ever find me. I had no reason to doubt him – no-one knew where I was.
The beatings resumed this time with a little more intensity. The beating under the feet was more sustained this time, and the reason for that I was told is that if I survived, I would have no pictures of injuries to share on social media, so no public sympathy and few would believe I had been tortured.
Then something quite bizarre happened. One of the men started defecating very close to our position, visibly annoying his friends who enquired about his mental state.
I would soon learn of my starring role in cleaning up the mess, literally. The man who had just done the number two said I should pick up his faeces with my hands and go dispose of them further away.
I was uncuffed. I began walking towards a nearby tree intending to get some leaves which I would use to handle the faeces, but I was quickly ordered to perish that thought: I would be using my bare hands.
I hope never to suffer such humiliation for the rest of my life.
For much of the night, the men had been using their phones to try and talk to someone they referred to as “boss”, but the calls were not being answered. I figured that my fate would be decided by the “boss”.
Then, eventually, at around 3 AM, one of them got through to the boss.
“He doesn’t have any information, it looks like he’s just an overzealous guy,” one of my captors reported back to the “boss”.
One of the men took out a bottle of water and helped me wash my hands. We would be getting back in the vehicle and they didn’t want to suffer the smell of their colleague’s faeces, he said.
Everyone back in the vehicle, they started driving as if going back to Chitungwiza. Then suddenly, the vehicle stopped and I was literally kicked out and they sped off.
Grateful to be alive, I worried that they might change their minds and return for me. Staying at the same location was a dangerous thing to do, I reasoned, and following their direction to get to the main road was no option either.
I reasoned I had to walk back towards the Hunyani river, which I doubted they would expect me to do. There was a problem. There was a burning sensation under my feet and I could barely stand. I discovered, however, that the pain was slightly more bearable when walking using just my heels.
I found a thick bush and took cover until the break of light at around 5 AM. I willed myself on until I got to the main road and flagged down a car. I had no money. I explained my situation very briefly and the driver said: “jump in”.
The driver dropped me off close to my home where I walked in to find relatives and neighbours sick with worry.
Relatives drove me to the police station at Dema to make a report. I was given a reference number called an ‘OB’, and advised that an investigating officer would be assigned the case and would get in touch.
After the police report, I was seen by a doctor who observed that my testicles were swollen and I had injuries to my wrists from the handcuffs. I was prescribed medicines and some general exercises to get back to wellness.
One of the first things I did when I finally returned home was to delete my Facebook posts making reference to the car hire scandal. I was afraid they would return.
After some quiet reflection, and talking to friends, I thought Zimbabweans should know what happened to me. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented, Elie Wiesel once said.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2020/09/08/tortured-over-facebook-post-youre-killing-me-yes-we-want-you-to-die/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZimLive</a></h4>

Chitungwiza Man Narrates His Nocturnal Abduction And Torture By 5 Armed Men

Opposition political activists and human rights defenders have been urged to exercise extreme caution due to rising suspicions that they could be targets for food poisoning or abduction.
The deaths of several prominent opposition and civic leaders due to colon cancer in the last few years has raised eyebrows, with critics suspicious that they may have been assassinated “Russian-style”.
Russia is considered a dangerous place for government critics, who risk dying agonising deaths due to poisoning.
High profile poisoning Russian cases include that of Alexander Litvinenko, a former intelligence officer who was poisoned by two Russians in a suspected assassination in 2006 in London, and Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the UK’s intelligence services who was poisoned in the city of Salisbury, England alongside his daughter Yulia.
Professor of law at the University of Kent, Alex Magaisa advised politically exposed persons (PEPs) to rather err on the side of caution rather than fear being considered paranoic. He wrote:
<blockquote>One of the first lessons I learnt in the field when I went onto the dance-floor was that you have to be very selective about whom you tell things especially your whereabouts in times of crisis. Because if they are caught and tortured, they’ll squeal.
The other was that the one person you can truly trust is yourself. The third was that persons closest to you can be the most dangerous. That’s because you trust them and you lower your guard. If they are weak they are easily bought. If they are captured, they’ll squeal.
The other is the honey-trap. Politicians or technocrats in corridors of power find themselves enjoying growing attention and adulation. The delusional might think they have suddenly become more handsome or beautiful. But not all such attention is innocent.
And if you’re having a drink, you can’t leave it unattended at the table. If you’re going to the loo, make sure it’s done. Avoid being a regular at a single spot. You can’t be predictable. But humans are creatures of habit, a weakness that’s easy to exploit.
When you eat, a buffet is a way to go. Eat from the communal pot! Reject special treatment. It might seem special to order room service, but if you’re a PEP (politically exposed person) it’s not a smart idea. The kitchens are infested; some waiters do not only deliver food.
Also, carry your own water. Cut out the middleman. They know your hotel room before you know it. Now, I know this sounds like paranoia but our political space is not normal. It’s had-hat area and you can’t be too careful. Always err on the side of caution.</blockquote>
Recently, Tawanda Muchehiwa, a 22-year-old Midlands State University (MSU) journalism student was abducted in broad daylight and there are suspicions that he could have been trapped by Tendai Masotsha, the MDC Alliance women’s assembly chairperson in Bulawayo province.
Muchehiwa’s abductors then attempted to use his phone to waylay other activists, including Thandekile Moyo, who initiated the #ZANUPFMUSTGO hashtag and Samkeliso Tshuma.
Both were wise enough to avoid falling into the trap but Muchehiwa’s friend, Collen Dhlamini fell for it when he was baited with a WhatsApp message from his phone. He was given a thorough beating by the abductors.

Govt Critics Advised On How To Reduce Chances Of Poisoning, Abduction

MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende said the party has launched investigations into allegations made against its women assembly chairperson for Bulawayo province, Tendai Masotsha.
Masotsha is alleged to have played a part in the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa, an opposition activist, who was seized from a vehicle in broad daylight by five armed men who tortured him for three days before dumping him badly injured near his home.
Hwende disclosed that the party has directed its Organising and Security Departments to look into the issue. He said:
<blockquote>We have noted the allegations made against our Chairlady of our Bulawayo Province and we have referred the matter to both our Organising Department and Security Department for further investigation.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2020/08/27/i-felt-the-gun-on-the-back-of-my-head-i-had-made-peace-with-death/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In his account</a>, Muchehiwa said on the day he was abducted, on 30 July 2020, he received a call from Masotsha, who said she had flyers that could be used in the protests the next day and wanted to his help in distributing them. He said:
<blockquote>At around mid-morning on July 30, my cousin Advent Mathuthu was driving to a hardware shop on Fife Avenue Extension. I asked to accompany him.
While in town, I received a call from Masotsha, who said she had flyers that could be used in the protests the next day. She parked her vehicle and jumped into our BMW, carrying only a handbag.
… Advent was in a rush and needed us to secure the material at the hardware shop, so he drove off and we agreed we would drop Masotsha by her car on our return.</blockquote>
Muchehiwa further revealed that after his abduction, his two cousins were arrested and later released yet Masotsha, who had brought all his troubles, was neither charged nor arrested.
This has led to suspicions that Masotsha either voluntarily or under duress led the abductors to Muchehiwa.

MDC Alliance Official Under Probe Over Muchehiwa Abduction

Noxolo Maphosa, a 23-year-old woman who recently fled to South Africa following her abduction, torture, and s_xual assault by suspected state agents, is living in fear in the neighbouring country.
Maphosa and her little child were forced to seek shelter at a police station in South Africa after suspicious vehicles had camped at a place they were staying.
Respected South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reporter Sophie Mokoena <a href="https://twitter.com/Sophie_Mokoena/status/1299425707551059971" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>:
<blockquote>I have just received a very disturbing message from Josphat Mzaca Ngulube who has fled Zimbabwe. I just hope the South African police will help him.</blockquote>
National Patriotic Front (NPF) spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire also <a href="https://twitter.com/mawarirej/status/1299446760784494593?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted</a> on Twitter:
<blockquote>Receiving disturbing reports that suspicious vehicles had camped at a place Noxolo is staying in SA. She is the lady who appeared on [SABC News’s African Perspective programme] where I was a panellist. She and her child have now sought refuge at a police station in SA.</blockquote>
Noxolo was abducted by four men in broad daylight while walking to a butchery near Pick n Pay (Hyper) in Bulawayo earlier this month.
The men blindfolded her and drove to a house where they interrogated her about the whereabouts of his uncle Josphat ‘Mzaca’ Ngulube.
During the SABC programme, which was aired earlier this week, Noxolo revealed that the men again broke into their home in Bulawayo around 1 AM forcing the family to relocate to another suburb for fear of further raids.
Noxolo further revealed that the intimidation did not end with the family’s relocation. In fact, a few days later, a man accosted her while walking in the city centre, showed her a gun and warned her against making any noise.
Fearing for her life, the mother-of-one fled to South Africa for refuge with her little baby.

Abduction Victim Followed To South Africa

Tawanda Muchehiwa, a second-year journalism student at the Gweru-based Midlands State University (MSU) has revealed how State agents infiltrate opposition ranks by converting activists into informers.
Muchehiwa, who is a nephew to ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu, chronicled the torture he endured at the hands of his captors over a three-day period. He said:
<blockquote>On our way back, I was told I should join Zanu PF as soon as I got home. They said it was undesirable for me to spend too much time around my uncle, he could be a bad influence. After 2023, they said, I will get a powerful job in Zanu PF.
That’s them thinking they have already won the next election, I thought. I was told that processes would get underway to ensure that I become the president of the Zanu PF-aligned ZICOSU students’ union at Midlands State University where I am a second-year journalism student.
Someone – unnamed – would pay my school fees, they said. I won’t have to worry about that again.
They demanded that to prove that I am a changed person, I must put out some tweets declaring my support for Zanu PF. The consequences of going against any of these directives, I was reminded, would be dire.
They went further. I was now an informer, they said without actually using that word. Next time we meet, they said, they would drive up next to me, roll down a window and I should be ready to sing like a canary. They had broken me physically.
They thought they had also broken me mentally, and now I was ripe for recruitment. At that moment, I wondered how many activists in the opposition had been brutalised this way and given these options: cooperate with us or die. Indeed, who had put these people on my tail?</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2020/08/27/i-felt-the-gun-on-the-back-of-my-head-i-had-made-peace-with-death/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZimLive</a></h4>

Abduction Survivor Reveals How Opposition Ranks Are Infiltrated By State Agents

FULL TEXT: ZimLive Editor's Nephew, Tawanda Muchehiwa Narrates Horrendous 3-day Torture By His Abductors

Tawanda Muchehiwa, a nephew to ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu was abducted by suspected State agents on 30 July 2020 in broad daylight in Bulawayo and held incommunicado for three days by his captors.
During his captivity, Tawanda was severely tortured and later dumped after a High Court judge ordered police to present him before the court within 72 hours.
Watch Tawanda’s abduction below:

WATCH: Abduction Of Tawanda Muchehiwa, ZimLive Editor's Nephew Caught on CCTV

MDC-T organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe has said reports of abductions and torture of known government critics by suspected State agents are real and straightforward.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily News on Sunday Staff Writer Jeffrey Muvundusi, Bhebhe queried why there haven’t been any arrests of the alleged perpetrators of the heinous crimes who move around armed with military-grade rifles. Said Bhebhe:
<blockquote>The abductions are straightforward and real, and from the look of things, elements within the State security may be involved because all those abducted and tortured have been known government critics, activists and opposition members challenging Zanu PF for bad governance, corruption, abuse of power and policy inconsistencies.
Those carrying out the abductions are sometimes alleged to have been armed with AK-47 rifles and accusing them of threatening national security and there has not been a single arrest…
Therefore, it clearly suggests that the motive of abductions and torture is to strike fear in the hearts of everyone who challenges and criticise the government and to prevent any possibility of organised protests against the Zanu PF government.</blockquote>
Several MDC Alliance activists in Bulawayo and individuals related to political activists were allegedly abducted and tortured by groups of armed men in recent weeks.
No suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the crimes.
<h4>More: <a href="https://dailynews.co.zw/zim-should-not-burden-sa-with-its-political-crisis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daily News</a></h4>

Abductions Of Political Activists Are Real - MDC-T Official

The opposition MDC Alliance said it has recorded more than 146 cases of victimisation of citizens, with 11 of the cases being property destruction.
In a statement, the party’s Secretary for Social Welfare Maureen Kademaunga said there have been 38 cases of abduction and torture and the heinous crimes were all committed by armed men moving around in unmarked vehicles. She said:
<blockquote>We have recorded over 146 cases of victimisation. The majority are targeted victimization, displacements and arrests totalling a combined 97 cases, with property destructions recording a total number of eleven cases (11 cases).
38 cases of abduction and torture and all are committed by armed men in unmarked vehicles. Victims suffered severe and in some cases life-threatening injuries.
The injuries include broken ribs and limbs, internal bleeding, electrocution, and being injected unknown substances.</blockquote>
In Bulawayo late last week on Friday, a 23-year-old woman was abducted, sexually assaulted and badly beaten by four men looking for her political activist uncle Josphat ‘Mzaca’ Ngulube.
Her case is only one of several such cases which have been widely reported by private media in the past few days.

MDC-A Says It Has Recorded 146 Cases Of Victimisation

Tawanda Muchehiwa (22), a nephew to ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu has been admitted at a private hospital in Bulawayo after he was severely tortured for two days by suspected State agents.
Muchehiwa was seized from a police station soon after his arrest on Thursday, 30 Augusts 2020, and held captive for two days in a bushy area. During his captivity, Tawanda alleged that he was forced to drink his urine and beaten repeatedly below his feet.
His captors eventually drove him home and dumped him yesterday, 1 August 2020, at around 10 pm. A report by MISA Zimbabwe read:
<blockquote>Tawanda Muchehiwa, the nephew to ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu, was found yesterday evening, the 1st of August 2020 around 2200hrs after he was ‘dropped off’ at his place of residence by his tormentors.
Muchehiwa had been missing since the 30th of July 2020 after his arrest by police officers and his detention at Bulawayo Central Police Station.
Muchehiwa was brutally tortured and has sustained serious injuries. Following his re-appearance, his Lawyer Nqobani Sithole filed a report which was only finalized around 02.00hrs this morning.
The MISA-Zimbabwe deployed lawyer stated that Muchehiwa informed him that he was picked up from the police station by officers from the army’s Military Intelligence Department.
He alleges that he was subsequently taken to an unknown location which he only recognises as bushy.
Muchehiwa is currently at a private hospital in Bulawayo where he is receiving medical attention.</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://zimbabwe.misa.org/2020/08/02/zimlive-editors-nephew-tortured-and-dumped-at-place-of-residence/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MISA Zimbabwe</a></h4>

ZimLive Editor's Nephew Hospitalised After 48-hour Gruesome Torture

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa said that a gang of men claiming to be police officers visited his home mid-morning this Monday looking for him.
Mutasa said the ‘policemen’ attempted to bundle his relatives in their vehicle in a bid to force them to divulge his whereabouts. <a href="https://twitter.com/MutasaPeter/status/1282416699199938563" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mutasa tweeted</a>:
<blockquote>A gang saying are policeman have visited my home just now. Having failed to see me at home, they tried to force my relatives into their car. They wanted them to show them where l am. My family is in danger and panic.
So after being disrupted and failing to abduct me, they went to the car park where l park and punctured all the tyres.
They obviously wanted to immobilize me because they then came back in a white quantum and faked to be lost and seeking directions.</blockquote>
In a related development, president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), Obert Masaraure, said unidentified armed men claiming to be from the Office of the President raided his uncle’s home at around 2 AM searching to him. <a href="https://twitter.com/OMasaraure/status/1282578872207159296?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">He posted on Twitter</a>:
<blockquote>Armed men raided the residence of my uncle in Kuwadzana last night. They arrived at 2 am heavily armed and said they were looking for me. I am safe for now, but worried.
They were four armed men in suits, who claimed to be from the President’s office. They abducted my cousin threatening to kill him.
They later dumped him at Kuwadzana 2 shopping centre after interrogating him about my whereabouts.
They were in an unmarked twin cab, black in colour.
The young man, (my cousin) is heavily traumatised.</blockquote>
Zimbabwe has witnessed worrying cases of abductions of opposition political activists, union leaders, comedians and civic activists by unknown gunmen.
The abductions occur in the dead of the night and the abductors, armed with assault rifles, usually torture their victims before dumping them.

'Policemen' Attempt To Force Union Boss's Relatives Into Vehicle - ZCTU President

The wife of MDC Alliance councillor Denford Ngadziore and the couple’s six-month-old baby have reportedly abducted by suspected state agents who were driving a car without number plates.
In a statement posted on the party’s social media channels, the MDCA said Ngadziore’ wife and baby, as well as Allan Moyo and Snaga Lameck, were kidnapped from Ngadziore’s home in Mabelreign.
They were allegedly beaten and then dumped in Dzivarasekwa, a high-density suburb to the west of Harare. The statement read:
<blockquote>The wife and 6 months old baby of MDC Alliance Councillor, Denford Ngadziore, as well as Allan Moyo and Snaga Lameck, were kidnapped from Ngadziore’s home in Mabelreign by suspected state agents driving a vehicle with no number plates. They were beaten and dumped in Dzivarasekwa.</blockquote>
In a post on Twitter on Thursday evening, Ngadziore confirmed the abduction and torture of his wife. He wrote:
<blockquote>The state continues with its brutality against the citizenry. This evening they abducted and tortured my wife with her 6 months old baby strapped on her back. In a new Zimbabwe led by President Advocate Nelson Chamisa, this will not find space.</blockquote>
Following the removal of nine MDC Alliance MPs from Parliament by MDC-T acting president Thokozani Khupe, Ngadziore vowed to stand by Chamisa. He said:
<blockquote>Dear Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora. I would want to make it clear that am not afraid of being RECALLED by you. If ever you are going to RECALL me it should be known that I am not going to REGRET my decision to support the MDC Alliance and President Advocate Nelson Chamisa.</blockquote>
The assault on Ngadziore’s family comes after three MDCA youth assembly officials, Joanna Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri were abducted in Harare last month and later sexually abused and dumped in Bindura, Mashonaland Central Province.
The government has often blamed an imaginary third force for kidnapping opposition activists and has also at times accused the victims of faking abductions.

MDCA Councillor's Wife And Child Abducted, Beaten & Dumped By Unknown Assailants

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested MDC Alliance Youth Assembly leaders Joanna Mamombe, Cecillia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova a few hours after United Nations human rights experts demanded that the women are released and their alleged abductors prosecuted.
The three were arrested at the offices of their lawyers on Wednesday and the charges levelled against them relate to an alleged fake abduction report.
The arrests come barely hours after the United Nations demanded that Zimbabwe immediately end a reported pattern of disappearances and torture.
In a statement earlier this Wednesday, UN human rights experts called on Zimbabwe to urgently prosecute and punish the suspected state agents who allegedly abducted and sexually abused the three women. Part of the statement read:
<blockquote>Under the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, which includes enforced disappearance and violence against women, Zimbabwe must take all measures in its power to prevent such abuse, to investigate suspected violations, and to bring any perpetrators to justice.</blockquote>
The UN human right experts also urged the government to allow official visits of its human rights experts with a view to assessing the human rights situation in the country.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean government has stoically maintained that the three women faked their abduction with the help of doctors and “hostile” foreign governments.

Zimbabwe 'Dares' United Nations Human Rights Experts

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the government will resist plots by political activists and hostile foreign governments to destabilise the country and render it ungovernable.
Addressing the ruling ZANU PF party politburo this Wednesday, President Mnangagwa said there has been a relentless onslaught against the party and government through alleged abductions and hostile governments such as the United States of America and these acts will not be tolerated. He said:
<blockquote>These confrontational actions which played out in the political, economic and media arena were not isolated incidences but were orchestrated, coordinated and planned events.
I am aware that the intention was to cause despondency, unrest, violence and to render the country ungovernable.
These acts should never be tolerated. I urge the party and the nation as a whole to remain alert.
Let us refuse to be divided by vigilantes who are hired by hostile foreign governments to distract us from our quest to grow our economy and improve the quality of life for all in peace, unity and in love.
Comrades, rest assured that our security apparatus will get to the bottom of these machinations and those involved will be brought to account.</blockquote>
President Mnangagwa cited the recent alleged state-sanctioned abduction of three MDC-Alliance youth members, Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova saying foreign governments had a hand in the “fake” abduction claims.
The government has rejected the trio’s narration of what transpired during the 48 hours they were missing.
<h4>More: <a href="http://newziana.co.zw/2020/06/10/president-mnangagwa-warns-political-and-economic-saboteurs/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Ziana</a></h4>

ED Warns 'Vigilantes Hired By Hostile Foreign Governments' To Destabilise Zimbabwe

UN human rights experts today called on Zimbabwe to immediately end a reported pattern of disappearances and torture that appear aimed at suppressing protests and dissent.
The urgent call comes after three female opposition activists – a member of parliament Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova – were stopped at a police checkpoint in Harare and subsequently abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted.
The three women were going to participate in a peaceful protest organised on 13 May 2020 by the Alliance Youth Assembly of the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change.
After almost 48 hours, the three women were dumped in a marketplace. They were immediately hospitalised to be treated for the injuries they sustained while they were abducted.
A few days later, they were charged with violating COVID-19 regulations on public gatherings and for purportedly intending to promote public violence and breach of peace. The experts said:
<blockquote>The charges against the three women should be dropped. Targeting peaceful dissidents, including youth leaders, in direct retaliation for the exercise of their freedom of association, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is a serious violation of human rights law.</blockquote>
The experts called on the authorities of Zimbabwe to “urgently prosecute and punish the perpetrators of this outrageous crime and to immediately enforce a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ for abductions and torture throughout the country” to ensure the effective protection of women against sexual violence, and to bring those responsible to account.
The experts expressed grave alarm over concerns this was not an isolated instance. In 2019 alone, 49 cases of abductions and torture were reported in Zimbabwe, without investigations leading to perpetrators being held to account. The experts added:
<blockquote>Enforced disappearances of women often involve sexual violence, and even forced impregnation, with enormous harm inflicted not only on their physical health and integrity but also in terms of the resulting psychological damage, social stigma and disruption of family structures.
Under the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, which includes enforced disappearance and violence against women, Zimbabwe must take all measures in its power to prevent such abuse, to investigate suspected violations, and to bring any perpetrators to justice.</blockquote>
They also urged the government to allow official visits of UN human rights experts with a view to assessing the human rights situation in the country.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25944&amp;LangID=E" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United Nations</a></h4>

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