The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party yesterdays said several of its supporters in Nkayi communal lands in Matabeleland South province have fled their homes after being attacked by suspected ruling ZANU PF party militias.
| Brownshirts are rampaging, are they? |
MDC Member of Parliament for Nkayi Abednico Bhebhe said many of the villagers had fled to Bulawayo where they have sought sanctuary with relatives and friends. [Welshman] Ncube, who claimed that some of the vehicles that have been used to ferry the youths to their victimsâ homes appeared to have been painted in Zimbabwe Republic Police colours, accused the law enforcement agency of turning a blind eye to the marauding youths. Police at Nkayi however dismissed the allegations that police vehicles had been used to transport the marauding youths. âWhy should the police involve themselves in politics? We donât have such a report,â an officer at Nkayi Police Station said.
Some of the villagers who escaped the youths told this newspaper of how their relatives and loved ones were severely tortured by the militia men and of how they themselves were lucky to escape to the safety of Bulawayo. MDC secretary for Nkayi district Aleck Nkiwane recounted how he fled to Bulawayo after being tipped off that the suspected ZANU PF militias were looking for him. But the opposition official said the pro-government mob kidnapped his wife whom they are now holding as ransom until Nkiwane surrenders himself to them. Another MDC official Vita Masuku, who contested last yearâs rural council election on behalf of the opposition party but lost, said she fled at the middle of the night after being informed that the suspected ZANU PF militias were planning to raid her home in Nkayi. Masuku, who said several villagers from her area had been severely injured during torture sessions by the militias, said, âThey are taking people to their base near Ngwalande Clinic where they torture them. Some of my neighbours are actually living in the bush for fear of the youths.â
| Bob's opened Pandora's box really wide with the ZANU-PF "youths." Chances are he's going to kick it or be expelled within the next year, two at the outside. The brownshirts are what he's going to leave behind, and they're still going to be there even if ZANU-PF dies with him. |
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