…as Pre-Election Violence Rocks Masvingo
With the 2023 harmonised elections fast approaching, an opposition activist says his life has turned into a nightmare following a series of attacks and threats from suspected ZANU PF supporters.
Maxwell Mudzingwa, a long-time supporter of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), recounted to this publication how he has been subjected to harassment, abduction, and brutal assaults for his political affiliation with the Nelson Chamisa-led party.
He described one particularly harrowing incident in January while campaigning with fellow CCC members in Masvingo.
“On January 20, while coming from a door-to-door campaign in Mucheke, we were trailed by vehicles belonging to some well-known ZANU PF thugs in the province,” said Mudzingwa.
“They blocked our car at the T-junction with Mushandike Street, hurled insults at us, and accused us of campaigning for the opposition. We were forcibly dragged out of our vehicle and bundled into theirs.”
Mudzingwa and his colleagues were reportedly taken to a secluded area a few kilometres along the Masvingo–Harare Highway, where they were severely beaten.
“We were beaten to a pulp while blindfolded. They forced us to eat our own faeces and subjected us to other degrading acts,” he said, his voice trembling.
“After the torture, they dumped us near the Chatsworth turn-off. A Good Samaritan found us and took us to a private hospital for treatment.”
Asked if they reported the matter to the police, Mudzingwa said they were advised against it.
“One of our colleagues had a friend who is a police officer at Masvingo Central. He warned us that reporting could make things worse, citing cases like those of Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova, and Cecilia Chimbiri who were allegedly abducted in 2020,” he explained.
Following the incident, Mudzingwa began receiving anonymous calls threatening to “deal with him.”
Fearing for his life, he fled to his sister’s home in Bindura but said unidentified individuals soon began inquiring about his whereabouts.
“That’s when I knew I wasn’t safe anymore. I fled the country, first to Dubai and now to South Africa,but even here, I still feel unsafe because of reports that state agents operate across borders,” he said.
The activist is now considering fleeing to the United States or Canada.
Mudzingwa’s ordeal comes amid growing concerns from civic groups such as Amnesty International and the Zimbabwe Peace Project over escalating cases of pre-election violence and intimidation of opposition supporters. Activists including Makomborero Haruzivishe have also endured lengthy pre-trial detentions, raising fears that political repression is once again on the rise ahead of the polls
