By Viola Mzungwana
Gokwe — Opposition member Christopher Hamandishe has narrated how he was brutally attacked by suspected ZANU PF supporters while on his way to attend a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) rally in Gokwe, the latest incident in a wave of political violence that human rights groups say has become institutionalized in Zimbabwe.
Hamandishe sustained a deep cut on his forehead after he was set upon by a group of ruling party supporters at Chitekete business centre in Gokwe. He was traveling to Gokwe-Kabuyuni to attend a rally addressed by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa when the attackers blocked roads using high-end twin-cab vehicles and unleashed violence on opposition supporters and journalists.
“They ordered us out of our vehicle and forced us to sprawl on the ground. They beat us, ramming our heads on the ground. I thought we would die. They were relentless,” Hamandishe recounted. Medical help only arrived a day later as the victims had no transport to seek treatment.
In a separate incident, journalist Tongai Mwenje, who was covering the same rally, was also attacked. His head was bandaged to cover a deep cut sustained during the assault. Fellow journalists Toneo Rutsito was left injured, while Pellagia Mpurwa was beaten unconscious and had to be resuscitated with water.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) documented 145 human rights violations affecting more than 3,600 people in April alone, with political intimidation, arbitrary arrests and restrictions on freedoms of expression and association among the leading concerns. According to the report, people affiliated with ZANU PF accounted for the largest share of alleged perpetrators, making up 53.72% of those identified.
The Center for Human Rights Defenders of Zimbabwe (CHRDZ) has called upon the government to end what it describes as institutionalized violence against opposition members. The organization has expressed alarm over state-sponsored violence against dissenting voices, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of citizens.
Political analysts condemned the violence, warning that the country is descending into a pattern of repression that threatens democratic governance.
“It is not known at what level atrocities against people opposed to the unconstitutional manner in which ZANU PF is pushing for the extension of President Mnangagwa’s tenure are being planned,” said one analyst who preffered anonymity. “The violence at hearings is not incidental; it is symptomatic of a broader authoritarian drift, a deliberate strategy to hollow out participatory governance and replace it with fear”.
He said he has appealed to the international community to intervene in what he described as escalating democratic and human rights violations in Zimbabwe.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), African Union, and United Nations have yet to issue formal statements on the recent wave of violence, though opposition groups have called for regional intervention. International media outlets including BBC, CNN, and SABC News have reported on the escalating political repression in Zimbabwe.
Police have made no arrests in connection with the Gokwe attacks, according to victims.
