Violence continues, as expected
We have had confirmed information from a source that there was violence in Inyati yesterday afternoon. Apparently a ‘hit squad’ – the term used by our source and we aren’t sure what this exactly means – attacked the place and people have been hiding out in the bush in fear. Donald Ndlovu, a well know MDC activist in the area has been abducted and is still missing.
We have also been told that more than fifty injured people were admitted to Harare hospitals yesterday.
What this shows is that the violence is not abating. You may remember that the news immediately after the March 29th elections was dominated by the five week delay in releasing the presidential results and whether Mugabe was rigging or not etc. In that five week window Mugabe was preparing his ‘election campaign’ and beating civilians to a pulp.
We’re in a similar interregnum again. Discussions will rage backwards and forwards about the political issues in Zimbabwe and whether the MDC did the right thing or not, but in the meanwhile, Mugabe is continuing to prepare for whatever SADC might demand of him. He will be pressing home the advantage he now believes he has and exploiting this small window of opportunity when the world is buzzing with political news.
Please, let’s keep our eyes firmly on the detail of what is happening locally and how this regime operates. Tsvangirai may have decided to withdraw from the run-off but that does not mean the violence will stop.
Let’s not forget also that Tendai Biti is still in jail facing charges of treason; Senator Masaba, as far as we know, is still locked up, etc. There are people we need to keep watching and protecting through all this.
I am going to try and get updates for you and ask that you stay with us and keep standing by us.
