Edwin Ndhlovu, MDC-N spokesman for Bulawayo, told SW Radio Africa that the soldiers detained the youth for about three hours, during which they were stripped naked, beaten, splashed with water and made to roll around on the ground.
They were then turned over to the police at Sauerstown, who held them without any charges over the weekend, before handing them over to the Law and Order section at Bulawayo Central Police Station on Monday.
According to Ndhlovu, the police plan to charge the youth with “trespassing or criminal nuisance” if they appear in court as expected on Tuesday. No charges have been brought against them since their illegal detention by soldiers on Saturday.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme, said two of the youth campaigners were encouraging people to vote in an area of Sauerstown, miles from the State House, when a truckload of soldiers approached and detained them.
“They tried to reason with the soldiers but failed, and they were forced into a truck and driven around picking up more youths”, Saungweme explained. A total of ten were abducted and taken inside the State House, where the soldiers tortured them.
MDC-N spokesman Ndhlovu described the arrests as “political persecution of people against Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF”. He added that the MDC-N is also being targeted because their leader, Professor Welshman Ncube, is gaining popularity. – Swradio africa
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