Lonnie Marange sustained serious injuries after being attacked by five soldiers in Daisy Hill area on accusation of supporting the MDC-T. In an interview with The Zimbabwean, Mathius Mlambo, the MP for Chipinge East said: “A group of soldiers stationed at Daisy Hill assaulted Marange, accusing him of wearing an MDC-T t-shirt. When we tried to make a report at Grassflats police station, officers refused to open a docket arguing that the case was political and complicated.”
They then went to Chipinge police station but the Officer in Charge referred them back to the station with instructions that the report be taken. Asked to comment, Chipinge police spokesperson Blessing Kadzuraumera said he was not aware of the case.
Manicaland MDC-T provincial chairman Julius Magarangoma blasted the armed forces for taking the law into their own hands. “This is outright madness. How can soldiers randomly beat our supporters for wearing party regalia? This shows the need for security sector reform,” said Magarangoma.