Chimanimani police threaten to shoot-to-kill MDC activists

By Tichaona Sibanda
12 November 2007

An overzealous police chief on Sunday threatened to invoke the shoot-to-kill order against MDC activists if they went ahead with their planned rally at Nedziwa business centre in Chimanimani.

The officer-in-charge of Chimanimani police, identified as Inspector Banda deployed heavily armed officers to cordon off the venue of the MDC rally. The uncompromising officer, allegedly vowed ‘he was above the law’ and dared anyone who challenged his authority that his or her fate would be sealed violently.

Pishai Muchauraya, MDC spokesman for Manicaland said Inspector Banda told them that as long as he remained officer-in-charge of Chimanimani the MDC would never hold a rally in the area. Fearing for the safety of their activists, the MDC called-off the rally and asked its supporters to disperse.

‘Inspector Banda told us he had instructions from his superiors that no MDC rally was to be held in Chimanimani and made it clear his officers would shoot-to-kill anyone who disregarded that order. We didn’t think he would go to such extremes to shoot unarmed civilians but we didn’t want to take any risks either, so we decided to call it off,’ Muchauraya said.

The spokesman accused the police of being so inextricably bound to the ruling party that it would take years to get rid of the Zanu-PF indoctrination from the police force.

‘It’s no wonder why human rights groups are saying politically motivated violence and intimidation by the police is continuing in Zimbabwe. This is true because I just witnessed it myself yesterday (Sunday). Zanu-PF is negotiating in bad faith because when the Mbeki led talks began, we all thought all hostilities against us would stop. But we were all wrong,’ he said.