By Leopold Munhende
Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has said it is investigating cases of politically motivated violence targeting opposition supporters and leaders following August’s elections.
The Commission, which observed elections, highlighted that it had received communication that some ruling Zanu PF officials and traditional leaders had promised to deal with all those who voted for opposing political parties.
ZHRC’s final report on the elections, released Tuesday, exposed massive anomalies in Zimbabwe’s electoral processes but still maintained government followed the dictates of the Constitution.
The report focused on all three phases of the electoral cycle; describing the peace that ensued during its pre-election period, and the failure to provide voting material on election day including bungling that saw wrong local authority papers being delivered in Zengeza West rather than Epworth.
It then painted a gloomy post-election period that has been characterised by continued attacks on Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists, Councillors, and Members of Parliament (MP).
Harare Councillor Womberaiishe Nhende and MP Takudzwa Ngadziore are some of those who were forcibly disappeared and tortured by suspected Zanu PF supporters and State Security agents.
More recently a CCC activist Tapfumaneyi Masaya was kidnapped, tortured, and found dead. He was reportedly forced into a campaign vehicle belonging to Zanu PF Mabvuku candidate Scott Sakupwanya.
“ZHRC noted some incidences in which ballot papers were mixed up, in terms of the Constituency allocation. For example, there was an incident where an Epworth ballot book for Local Authority was found in Zengeza West Constituency and 47 ballot papers had already been used before the mistake was discovered and corrected,” reads the report.
“ZHRC took note of a few cases of politically motivated violence against some political members and is following up on them, for instance, in Mashonaland East Province incidences of political violence, intimidation, threats to life, and destruction of property came to the attention of the Commission.
“A case in point is the violence against the CCC-winning MP for Goromonzi South Constituency, who was attacked twice, with his house being also attacked. The Commission is seized with this matter.
“ZHRC received allegations of post polling intimidation where the electorate reported that meetings were being scheduled by some ruling party members and some individual traditional leaders as platforms to identify those who had voted for the opposition and ‘deal with them’.”
Traditional leaders were in May 2018 barred from partisan politics by Masvingo High Court Judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze, in a case that sucked in former Chiefs Council President Fortune Charumbira.
They have however been accused of playing a central role in maintaining Zanu PF’s perceived dominance and hegemony in rural areas where their influence is mainly respected.
New Zimbabwe
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