More abductions as Mugabe continues crackdown
By Lance Guma
28 March 2007

The arbitrary abduction and beating of MDC leaders and activists continued Wednesday with reports that state sponsored hit squads abducted MDC senior official Ian Makoni and his wife Theresa at gun point from their home. The MDC says the incident took place Tuesday evening and the members of parliament for Budiriro and Glen View, Amos Chisvuure and Paul Madzore ran away to escape the same raids.

Opposition shadow secretary for local government Last Maengahama, who was abducted on Tuesday after the memorial service of slain activist Gift Tandare, was found 250 kilometres outside Harare in Mutorashanga. He has been admitted to the Avenues Clinic for what opposition officials described as life threatening injuries. Narrating his ordeal to fellow colleagues Maengahama said all he remembered was being shoved into a Mitsubishi truck, being stripped naked and having his shirt and tie used to blindfold him. He was beaten all over the body with an unidentified object.

Joshua Mukoyi from Kuwadzana who was abducted on Tuesday, beaten up and dumped in Darwendale has allegedly been abducted again and his whereabouts unknown. Mukoyi is 55 years old and father to two well-known MDC activists.

The Mutambara MDC has also issued a statement saying the provincial women’s assembly chairperson for Chitungwiza Mrs Mejury Zenda, an elderly and ailing woman in her 60’s, was arrested and detained on Tuesday. She is being held at Harare Central police station and being denied any food. Her lawyers have also been denied access to her. On Wednesday the lawyers tried again to get access but were refused and threatened with arrest. No charges have been made or any indication given as to why she was arrested.

The beatings of MDC officials have been described as savage and indiscriminate. Pedzisai Ruhanya a programmes manager with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said Mugabe was clearly sanctioning the use of these tactics. He noted how the perpetrators were known and yet no arrests where being made. He says the government is creating mayhem in the country so as to justify responding to it. Ruhanya says it is likely Mugabe wants to impose a state of emergency and is trying to create the justification for it. The MDC also released a statement saying the state sponsored bombing of houses and police stations was meant to portray the regime as the victims of an opposition inspired violent campaign.