The fracas occurred during a constituency feed-back meeting held at Zengeza 7 Grounds.
According to witnesses, as MP Chidhakwa was about to make his address, a group of 10 youths clad in Zanu PF t-shirts arrived at the venue and started assaulting MDC-T supporters including the legislator and NewsDay writer, Albert Masaka.,
“I was beaten up by Zanu PF youths while covering a feedback meeting organised by Zengeza West MP, Simon Chidhakwa,†Masaka said while making a report at St. Mary’s Police Station before he sought medical attention at Chitungwiza Central Hospital.
He continued: “The Zanu PF youths came and disrupted the meeting that I was covering.
“The MP and more than seven residents were attacked and injured.â€
Masaka said he, Chidhakwa and some MDC-T supporters, were saved by the arrival of police officers and claimed that the Zanu PF youths wanted to rob them of their cellphones and other personal effects.
However, no arrests were made.
Efforts to get a comment from Chidhakwa were unsuccessful although he is said to have made a report at the same police station before he sought medical attention.
The latest attack comes at a time when cases of political violence perpetrated by Zanu PF supporters against opposition members are on the increase.
Last week, Harare West MP, Jessie Majome, MDC-T, was forced to walk out of a Parliamentary debate on the Local Government Laws Bill at the Harare International Conference Centre.
The legislator left in protest after one of her party supporters, Denford Ngadziore, was assaulted by Zanu PF youths for criticising the bill.
In the same week, some Harare councillors were forced to flee after they were attacked at Machipisa Shopping Centre in Highfields, Harare during the same Parliamentary Local Government Laws Amendment Bill hearing.
Post published in: Featured