- An opposition legislator recorded AK-47-wielding kidnappers running after him.
- He was later found dumped and naked in a mining area.
- The opposition said he was injected with an unknown substance.
A fast-thinking opposition legislator in Zimbabwe broadcast his own abduction via a Facebook Live feed.
Takudzwa Ngadziore, 25, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) youth quota parliamentarian for Harare, ran into what looked like a mechanic’s workshop, screaming that he was being followed, and then activated his Facebook.
The video shows two men running towards him, one with an AK-47 assault rifle.
Ngadziore was later found naked and dumped in Christon Bank, Mazowe, by artisanal miners, who gave him a work suit to wear and then took him to hospital.
It is alleged that he was injected with an unknown substance during the abduction.
CCC’s chief whip, Amos Chibaya, told journalists the youthful legislator was abducted on his way to Parliament.
“He was abducted on his way to Parliament and tortured. It’s politically-motivated violence and targeted abductions,” he said.
Chibaya added that this was the third similar occurrence in a short space of time.
“All of them were injected with an unknown substance. It’s a systematic way to eliminate those who differ from Zanu-PF,” he said.
The crackdown, Chibaya said, was linked to what he called a “political crisis”, emanating from the disputed 23 August general elections.
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said: “The continuous targeting of prominent CCC members is designed to instil fear among the generality of the populace.”
The CCC said it had filed a police report.
The police have yet to comment on the matter.
Scores of Zimbabweans have since called on the police to do their job. They went as far as naming the kidnappers, whose faces were clearly shown in the video.
Human rights lawyer Douglas Coltart took to the streets in Harare in a one-man demonstration against the recent abductions.