MDC and BBC attacked in Harare

Staff correspondent
15th March 2013

BBC correspondent Andrew Harding said that he and his camera crew were in Mbare following a group of MDC activists, when they were all attacked.

The MDC supporters were putting up posters calling on Zimbabweans to vote “Yes” in Saturday’s referendum. One of them, Sten Zvorwadza, hopes to take over as the next MDC MP in Mbare.

Harding said that suddenly a woman ran at them from a market stall nearby and ripped down two posters. She screamed: “Who are you? Why are you putting those posters up? Put them where you live. I’m not going to allow you to do that here.”
She then started punching one of the MDC women and another woman joined in.

Harding said that some men then arrived and two of them began to punch and kick Mr Zvorwadza, throwing water at him and then the increasingly large crowd turned on the BBC reporter and his cameraman. Dirty water was thrown at them and they were punched.

Trying to remain calm they all walked back to the car with the crowd following and Mr Zvorwadza said the crowd were shouting: “Next time we will kill you.”

Zvorwadza said he was planning to report the incident at a local police station but fully expected that he would be arrested, rather than his attackers.