Masvingo
In Masvingo province, cases of political violence against opposition CCC
supporters by Zanu PF members continued to be recorded in September. The
situation of political violence is getting worse as the 2023 elections draw closer.
This was notable in Gutu as it was reported that the Zanu PF ward 6B chairperson
in Gutu West, Robison Gahadzikwa, allegedly arrived at Mututu. It is alleged that
he asked CCC supporters to remove their yellow party t-shirts and regalia. He
allegedly assaulted and injured a CCC member in the process. The victim went to
Chatsworth police station to make a police report, where he was informed that he
had to go to ZRP Masvingo as the higher offices had asked to see him before a
docket could be opened. This was a way of intimidating the victim from making a
police report against Zanu PF supporters, who the police seem to be biased
towards.
Traditional leaders and Zanu PF members continued threatening villagers against
supporting the opposition in Bikita. This could be attributed to the various
meetings the Zanu PF second secretary Kembo C.D Mohadi has been having with
traditional leaders across the country, encouraging them to mobilise for Zanu PF.
This is against the dictates of Section 46[1] of the Traditional Leaders’ Act and
Section 281 [2] (a, b, c and d) of the Constitution, which clearly states that the
members of the institution must not be members of any political party or act in a
partisan manner. In Bikita West ward 13, under headman Mupakwa, people were
gathered at the ward centre where they were called for their names to be
registered for government-sponsored farming inputs under the pfumvudza
scheme. It is alleged that it was a Zanu PF campaign meeting that had been called
for by Zanu PF members who were identified as Raphael Chiranga, Vena Nyangara,
Japhet Chiteme, D Mazhara, and Muchafa Mazhara. While at the gathering,
Muchafa allegedly intimidated people telling them that in the upcoming 2023
general elections, anyone who was caught supporting the opposition was going to
have their heads cut off. The headman also stated that village heads with CCC
supporters in their areas would be in for it and were supposed to submit the
names of the CCC supporters to him.
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