Speaking on condition of anonymity, she says it is clear the government is behind the violence and the police are not arresting ZANU (PF) supporters who attack anybody they suspect to be loyal to the MDC.
During the day the situation looks normal. But when evening comes, the militia supporting the ruling ZANU (PF) will just pick anybody they suspect to be a member of the opposition for a beating. Sometimes they will just pick members of a family and beat or even kill them. It is even worse that they seem to have adopted a system of amputation. They just chop off people’s hands, she says.
She added that sometimes the MDC retaliates, citing incidences where the opposition will fight back after one of their own has been attacked or vice versa. But when police come they arrest the MDC members who were attacked, they even arrest some people who had nothing to do with the violence.
In Harare, she says, they only see people wearing ZANU (PF) T-shirts while in the rural areas, the observers witness people’s houses being burned down. In Mashonaland and Manicaland, we have come across houses that were burned down. Travelling in rural areas is dangerous because you will come across a roadblock mounted by the militia and you have to explain to them what you are going to do in their territory. You will also come across police roadblocks every five kilometres, she explains. She says that in most cases, soldiers go to rural areas in plain clothes.- zimbabwemetro.com
Post published in: Opinions