Tsvangirai’s torture described as attempted murder

Morgan Tsvangirai has appeared in court, with serious wounds that reveal clear evidence of torture:

His head swollen and showing the signs of a deep wound that required ten stitches, Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader appeared in court this morning, two days after he was arrested with 50 others at a prayer meeting outside Harare.

Witnesses in the court said Morgan Tsvangirai was limping and his head was partly shaved around the gash which his supporters say is evidence of an attempt to kill him on Sunday. Riot police then cleared the court, ordering only those accused of “inciting people to engage in violent activities” to remain. (via The Times)

View a BBC report here

The Mail and Guardian reports a first hand witness account (originally published on ZimOnline), of the torture carried out on senior MDC officials. The witness, a policeman, described the attack as attempted murder, not assault:

“They [soldiers] were dressed in police uniform and had bloodshot eyes. They told us they were police officers, but I managed to identify them as commandos because of the green army belts they were wearing on top of the uniforms.

“Only commandos wear those. One of them announced that they had smoked a special grade of marijuana for the special mission. I witnessed the whole incident. Police officers from Machipisa were not involved. We were stunned at the ruthlessness.

“They were shouting and telling Tsvangirai that they could kill him on that night and nothing would happen to them,” said the officer.

The police officer said the beatings started at 11.45pm and lasted for more than two hours.

“Tsvangirai was the first to be attacked. They said they wanted to show the others that they meant business. Tsvangirai’s colleagues openly wept as their leader was being beaten.

“I think they were feeling for Tsvangirai as well as pondering their own fate,” he said.

Using sjamboks, army belts and gun butts, the soldiers attacked Tsvangirai until he passed out, said the police officer.

“The soldiers then shifted attention to the remaining suspects, as one of the soldiers poured cold water all over Tsvangirai to resuscitate him. They came to the women, and identified Grace Kwinjeh and Sekai Holland.

“The male soldiers began beating the two, while their female colleagues concentrated on Madhuku. The rest were watching, awaiting their turn.

“When Tsvangirai regained consciousness, one of them shouted: ‘Look their boss is ready for more action’, and they all pounced on him again until he passed out for the second time.

“Tsvangirai regained consciousness again at around 1:30am. One vicious woman was left to work on him. She removed an army belt from her waist and used it to assault Tsvangirai until he passed out again.

“I thought he was dead but she appeared unmoved. She simply moved to join her colleagues who were now indiscriminately beating the other suspects.

“Mutambara was assaulted but not as severely as Tsvangirai, Madhuku and Kwinjeh.”

One disabled MDC supporter was so severely assaulted that he begged the soldiers to finish him off.

“The guy was a sorry sight,” he said.

Pleas by the MDC leaders to stop beating the disabled man fell on deaf ears with one woman soldier retorting that it [beating] would teach him to live without challenging President Robert Mugabe’s authority.

More about Gift Tandare
This is a photograph of murdered Chairperson of NCA Glen View constituency and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activist, Gift Tandare. He was shot dead by police during running battles with the police in Highfields (more here). The whereabouts of his body are still unknown.

The MDC has declared Gift Tandare a national hero and is joining the family to organize the funeral procession.

Dates and the place for his burial have not been finalized, but the two possibilities are that he could be buried in Harare or in his rural village in Mt Darwin. (via ZimbabweJournalists.com)

The list of atrocities continues (1-7 yesterday)…

8. Activists shot while attending a vigil
Two more activists were shot while attending a vigil held for Gift Tandare, the young activist murdered by the Zimbabwean police this weekend. ZimbabweJournalists.com have a press release from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition:

Two MDC activists were shot at point blank around 4 am today at the funeral of Gift Tandare in Glen View. The two, Nickson Magondo and Naison Mashambanhaka were among a group of 500 mourners observing a vigil, consoling the Tandare family, a common practice at funerals in Zimbabwe. The two are recuperating in hospital.

ZimPundit has more detail from the MDC’s Deputy Secretary of Health, suggesting that the murders were carried out by either army or police:

It was reported at 4am this morning two youths were shot by Police/Army (?) amongst those mourning the death of Gift Tandare. The youths are in Hospital.

As I left the Tandare home in Glen View yesterday at 6 pm I observed a large Army truck with personell driving into the area, as well as a Land Rover full of the riot militia.

9. Arrests continuing two days after the rally
SW Radio Africa reported yesterday that 140 activists were arrested in Mutare:

The protesters were demonstrating against the murder of MDC activist Gift Tandari by the police in Highfields on Sunday and the subsequent arrest and detention of the MDC leaders.

And further arrests of ZINASU members continues today:

Gideon Chitanga, the ZINASU vice president together with 4 other students were picked up at Masvingo Polytechnic College on Monday 12 March 2007. The student leaders in Masvingo were mobilising against the unwarranted arrests, torture and murder of human rights defenders.

Today at around 1000hrs the ZINASU president, Promise Mkwananzi and secretary general Beloved Chiweshe were arrested at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) while rallying students to march into the city centre to demand a pronto release of opposition, civic society and student leaders. 4 other student leaders and activists are in police custody in Harare. This brings the total number of students in police detention to 37.

10. Police searching for ’subversive material’

Police and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) arrived at the ZCTU’s offices in the centre of the city at around 9.30, information officer Khumbulani Ndlovu said.

The police said they were looking for subversive material, Ndlovu said. Flyers, files and video tapes were seized and ZCTU’s financial administrator Galileo Chirebvu was told to accompany officers from the criminal investigations department. (via IOL)

Please voice your objections. Wherever you are in the world, use your telephones to protest against the lawlessness, the use of violence and torture, and to demand the release of all activists. Warn the Zimbabwean police that the world is watching.

Activists are also being held at:

• Avondale +263 4 336632
• Braeside +263 4 742261
• Rhodesville +263 4 481111 / 495753
• Highlands + 263 4 495304 / 495340 / 495504
• Borrowdale +263 4 860 061/7
• Marlborough +263 4 301801/301802

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, ZCTU, ZINASU, torture, Tsvangirai, police, army

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