The barbarity continues

Another atrocity against the people of Zimbabwe

As our politicians squabble, debate, impose conditions and argue, as international statesmen fudge and mumble their vague support for our suffering, it is easy to forget that down the dust roads and rural tracks of this country a daily horror is taking place. This is another eye-witness account.

The village of Chiweshe is near the small town of Mazoe, some 150 kilometres north of Harare. A Zanu-PF militia force, numbering about 20 and led, I am informed, by retired army major Cairo Mhandu, arrived at the village late one night last week.

Four residents of the village, all of them known to be activists and supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were rounded up. Then, while other villages were forced to watch, the torture began.

The four men - Jemedza Maguramhende, Tapiwa Meda, Alex Chiriseri and Roda Chavachimwe - were first flogged with whips made of barbed wire. When they became unconscious they were revived with water, then beaten to death with rifle butts.

The scene was described to me by Ida, the wife of Mr. Maguramhende, as she waited at a Harare clinic next day, to take her husband's body for burial. "They wanted my husband and they got him," she told me. "They killed him before my eyes."

A post mortem on Maguramhende revealed that his jaws and temple had been "forcibly collapsed" and that he had a huge dent in the back of his skull. Another victim, Tapiwa Meda, was so badly beaten that he could only be identified by his wrist watch.

Apart from the four who died, two other men were beaten, and are now in intensive care in a private Harare hospital. They were David Mapuranga and his father, Richard. David is known to be a major MDC activist who organised support in the run-up to the election.

Both men were whipped with barbed wire until they passed out. Richard's wife, Marevaseyi, told me that Mhandu, the militia commander, ordered that they be revived before being killed "so they can endure the pain of dying."

But the two men were so badly beaten that they did not recover consciousness despite by doused with water. Mhandu turned his attention elsewhere, and ordered the whipping of Richard's sister, Margaret. She was tortured, with effects that even here I cannot bring myself to relate

Throughout this whole barbaric nightmare, other villagers were forced both to watch, and to sing songs in support of Zanu-PF and its bloody history.

Around midnight the Zanu-PF force left the village. The horror of that dreadful night remains.

Comments

[Michael]

Doesn't this just take you back to the 1970's?

The names may have changed, but the tactics remain the same ..... instead of Rhodesian sympathisers they are now MDC supporters, instead of Mugabe being an un-landed terrorist, he is now the head honcho terrorist.

This report just goes to illustrate that for most people in Zimbabwe, the bush war is still going strong ..... only now the prime terrorist has the run of the country with no fear of intervention by security forces.

[RMacleod]

Hasn't changed much from thirty odd years ago, it brings back memories of the same barbaric techniques used to cower
the rural population into submission during the so called liberation war.
Yes, for the sake of these people, Mugabe if he survives must be brought to justice and that includes all his henchmen as well.
I say the word survive, because it has been mooted frequently there may be civil war in the not too distant future.
It is likely the war would come about between two antagonists within ZANU PF, the party legal secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa and retired general Solomon Mujuru aka Rex Nhongo.
Mnangagwa has always had his eyes on the throne and may feel it safer to keep and continue with the present ZANU PF regime to avoid being brought to justice. Mujuru on the other hand has made covert overtures to Makoni and the MDC, obviously seeking avoidance of justice by being part of the new regime in power.
Other factors are, both have been enemies since the 1990's when Mnangagwa foiled Mujuru's attempt to buy a chrome mining and smelting concern in Midlands province. Mnangagwa belongs to the small Karanga tribal clan while Mujuru comes from the big Zezuru tribal clan which may give him a larger following. Both are extremely wealthy, Mujuru more so, he is said to have over sixteen prime farms seized from commercial farmers. Both have been singled out for sanctions by the USA.
Of course it can only be surmised that there will be civil war, as always in Africa, there is that uncertainty of what will actually occur. The triggers for civil war are certainly in place, extreme violence, hunger beginning to stalk the working and middle and professional classes and the forthcoming run off election.

[RMacleod]

Curiously, News 24 SA(13/05/08)reports Mbeki sending six so called retired generals to Zimbabwe to assess the situation.

[DC]

'Retired' SADF generals in Zimbabwe. Sounds like the beginning of the war to me.... Didn't the US first send assessors/advisors to Vietnam? Then somehow they began to support the South Vietnamese and the rest is history.

How long will it take for the SADF to turn from 'assessors' to unofficial 'advisors' to full-blown supporters of the ZDF?

When the chips come down no truth will be too inconvenient to supress in SADC/Mbeki's need to keep ZANU-PF in power. Tortured and murdered people are just collateral damage to them.

I say war, but it really is just going to be a suppression or purge - because Zimbabweans have no way of fighting back.

Ultimately Zimbabweans must learn that there are just two ways to effect change when you have no weapons or friends.

First, like the civil rights movements in the US and the freedom movement in India before that, it means demonstrations and civil disobedience. Let the streets run with blood, sooner or later the government will grow either too tired of the uprisings or to embarrased to continue. And even if they don't Mbeki/SADC will grow tired of apologising on behalf of Mugabe.

The second method has been shown not to work - that is the Palestinian method of terrorism in Israel: blow up ZANU-PF interests (using home-made explosives) without regard for civilian casualties. Quite likely, as with Israel the retaliation from Mugabe will be swift, disproportionate and very violent. I would not advocate this, unless the civil disobedience campaign is compeletely crushed.

[Michael]

There is unfortunately a third option, the option that ZIPRA and ZANLA took in the bush war, and that is resorting to terrorism of the same sort that they did back then.

No doubt there would be yet another self-serving country willing to step forward to supply arms and training in exchange for ......

[RMacleod]

My,My the actions of McGee the US ambassador and other diplomats during their tour of hospitals around Mvurwi aka Mrewa, has certainly put the cat among the pidgins!

[DC]

"Mr McGee, don't make me angry... you won't like me when I'm angry" - The Incredible Mug(abe)

[majays]

Waal, this is really scary man !!!!!

[john scherer]

The Zimbabwe people need not hold their breath about ever, ever, having a change of Government, even if The U.S, France and the U.K. each sent in 5 Divisions of Soldiers to monitor the elections, dear Robert Mugabe would say the results were fixed! and remain in power! How Africa got rid of Idi 'Baba' Amin is still the riddle of the 20th Century. If Morgan even received 99.9 % of the vote, Mugabe would cry foul! My advice to the opposition, give it up. Go to South Africa, as illegal immigrants in your millions and leave
Mugabe with 100 000 +- of his personel savages to run his own hell on earth.
If the whole world can stand by and let all this happen, a scenaria, worse than the Holocaust in Germany, 'GOD ' help you all.