MUTARE - Villagers in Muromo in Mutare West constituency have accused soldiers and members of the support unit in the area of harassing them for supporting and attending MDC (Tsvangirai) functions.One of Robert Mugabes closest allies, Christopher Mushowe, lost the parliamentary seat to the MDCs Shuar Mudiwa last year. Mugabe appointed Mushowe a non-constituency senator, and then appointed him governor of Manicaland.
However, the appointment was not in the spirit of the global political agreement and Mushowe is set to lose his post to an MDC governor.
Villagers who spoke to The Zimbabwean said the soldiers and police, working under instruction from Mushowe, had been causing havoc in the area.
During the run-up to last years elections, the soldiers and the support unit set up a mini base at Muromo, which was used to beat and torture suspected MDC supporters. The base has not yet been dismantled and the soldiers are still using this base to harass the villagers as punishment for voting the MDC, said John Mushure, a local councillor.
The soldiers have also been accused of harassing workers of an non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is helping households in the area.
The NGO confirmed their work was being disrupted.
I have since lodged a formal complaint with the police in Mutare, but we have realised that no action is being taken. We have also noted that it is useless to lodge the complaints to the governors office because they are an interested party, said an official from the organisation.
He said last week they were meeting community leaders at a school when the soldiers, who were apparently drunk, stormed and demanded to be included.
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