Teenager pleads for father’s release
By Lance Guma
30 March, 2007

The seventeen-year-old daughter of Raymond Bake, the coordinator for ward 34 in the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), has sent out an appeal to the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of her abducted father. Rosila Bake has visited every police station in the capital and is almost giving up on seeing her father alive. Mfundo Mlilo an advocacy officer with CHRA revealed the sad scenario to Newsreel on Friday.

He says the distraught teenager has been visiting the CHRA offices daily since her father was abducted from shops in Harare’s Mufakose suburb two days ago, on Tuesday. ‘She is carrying some prepared food with her, in case she finds him,’ Mlilo added. Unidentified men bundled Bake into a Mazda truck and drove away. Another CHRA member Newton Kajau was also abducted from Mabvuku and taken to a torture camp in Goromonzi where he was severely assaulted and tortured. He has since been released.

Mlilo says the incidents are part of the ongoing crackdown by government on anyone belonging to a group that is viewed as anti-government. On Thursday he witnessed a group of uniformed soldiers disembarking from two trucks and indiscriminately beating up residents near Rufaro stadium in Mbare.

Also on Thursday riot police descended on the high-density suburb of Sakubva in Mutare and were indiscriminately beating up people. They also raided at least 5 homes belonging to MDC officials. Pishai Muchauraya the Tsvangirai MDC information officer for Manicaland told us that an Inspector Dhliwayo is spearheading the vicious campaign in Sakubva.