Madhuku accuses police of downplaying petrol bomb

By Violet Gonda
4 January 2007

NCA chairperson Dr Lovemore Madhuku has criticised the police for downplaying the arson attack on his house last week. The civic leader who said his house was petrol bombed in a politically motivated attack early Sunday accused the police of taking their time to investigate the attack. He also accused them of deliberately misleading the public in reports published by the state controlled Herald newspaper.

He said the way the authorities have been behaving is part of the evidence that shows the attack is state sanctioned. Dr Madhuku said even though he reported the matter to Waterfalls police and actually collected an officer to go to the scene within 20 minutes of the incident, the officer took no action. According to the NCA chairperson it then took another 22 hours to get the Member in Charge at the police station to go to his house. Officials from the Law and Order Section went there the following day.

“What we then saw is they rushed to the Herald, as police, to put a story that they were investigating the attack which was by an unknown person. In fact they gave a false story that we had seen someone putting a chemical on some fire outside my bedroom and then we panicked and broke the windows. That kind of a deliberate lie by those who know better is a reflection of people who want to limit the political damage that this kind of thing does,” said Madhuku.

Madhuku said the attackers sprinkled petrol around his house and outside his garage hoping his car would catch fire and explode. But he managed to escape together with his three young children and some relatives who were in the house. He said ordinary criminals did not do it, adding; “It is clear to us. We don’t doubt the fact that these are people who are coming from the central intelligence organ who work for our ruling party.”

The outspoken government critic dismissed suggestions that it could have been his detractors within the National Constitutional Assembly who attacked his house. He said the kind of people who had differences with him over recent amendments made to the NCA constitution to extend his term would not stoop this low. Madhuku believes no-one in the NCA would go as far as harming or killing him. He said; “That is unheard of in the struggle that we are waging.”

Waterfalls police refused to comment referring us to police Spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena. We were not able to get a comment from him.

The state has a history of using bomb attacks on opponents. In its short span the Daily News was bombed a number of times, whilst two opposition activists Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya were killed in a petrol bomb attack towards the run up to the presidential elections in 2002.

The NCA chairperson said despite the harassment he is not going to run away. He said; “Because if we were to leave that house then we would have achieved the objectives of our attackers who want us to feel intimidated either to leave the house or to leave the country. We will continue to fight for what we believe in.”

Meanwhile opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has condemned the attack on the civic leader. In his 2007 message on Wednesday, Tsvangirai said; “The shameful attack on the home and family of constitutional expert and activist, Dr Lovemore Madhuku is a symptom of the general panic within the establishment over a definite shift towards a national consensus on Zimbabwe’s future.”

Tsvangirai added; “Robert Mugabe and some elements in Zanu PF are terrified about tomorrow...They shall target progressive groups and individuals to divert attention and to frustrate and intimidate them away from making a contribution to the realization of a New Zimbabwe and a new society.”