Zimbabwe’s eighty-four year old president Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980 is clearly indicating he is a power hungry tyrant. He says no-one and nothing will remove him from power, whilst incidents of politically motivated violence perpetrated by his ruling ZANU PF party reaches alarming levels ahead of this month’s presidential poll.

Mugabe continues to vow he will not step down to let main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai rule the country even if defeated through the ballot, and is prepared for war, if the later wins.

Information at hand reveals the youth militia and uniformed forces continue murder, assault and intimidate opposition party supporters across the country ahead of the June 27 presidential election run-off election.

A source says over the weekend in rural Goto, Wedza, ZANU PF supporters caused mayhem at the shopping centre in the area, as they launched a clampdown on MDC supporters in the area.

“I stay in Harare and had visited St.Annes Goto, which is my home area. At first, I heard rumors from relatives and friends that ZANU PF militants were beating up people in my village.”

“I happened to have witnessed it all that very same day I arrived there this past weekend. It is pathetic and scary too. People were beaten up like stray animals,” he said.

As the election date nears, Mugabe has intensified his violent campaign which has entered urban areas, especially in the capital, Harare.

During the weekend, Mugabe said his party is prepared to fight to defend the country if "we lose it the same way it was lost" by our ancestors.

“Those who seek to undermine the land reform programme, itself the bedrock of Zimbabwean politics from time immemorial, seeks and gets war,” he emphasised.

The source said at the shopping centre, there is a shop owned by a well-known MDC party member. When the militia reached there, they asked for the shop owner and were told he was not around.

“The militia started singing ‘propaganda songs’ whilst they destroyed everything inside.”

“They fired a couple of gun shots in the air whilst still inside the shop, resulting in each and every civilian at the business centre scurrying for cover and eventually disappearing in all directions,” he said.

According to the MDC, more than 66 of its supporters have been killed in ZANU PF sponsored violence.

Recently, forty prominent Africans asked Mugabe for assurances the 27 June Presidential election run-off will be free and fair

The United Nations envoy, Haile Menkerios was also expected in the country yesterday as many nations and leaders continue to pressure Mugabe to stop human rights abuses.

The gang later on ransacked the whole place where they piled up everything they could find, including property.

“They simply set alight the clothes and property in the shop, and the whole building caught up fire and was completely destroyed,” said the source.

With a number of ZANU PF bases now set in and around the capital city, there has been numerous incidents of the notorious youth militia intimidating residents.

Many residents are currently being forced to attend ZANU PF rallies, usually at night, or face the ‘consequences.’

“The police had to order the ZANU PF gang to stop the terror, which they unleashed more than a fortnight ago.”

“For instance, the gang moves door by door calling for anyone who is more than 12 years of age to attend evening rallies.”

“They order residents out of their houses, of which if one refuses, they will come back to deal with them,” she said.

The eyewitness said she has never been terrified in her life.

“At one house, they came around midnight and assaulted two boys (around 16 years of age) who had not shown up for a rally.”

“They cut each of the boys’ fingers and warned them they should comply with their orders because they are ‘above the law’,” she added.

The police is not acting in any way to stop the murders and violence caused by the ruling party. In turn, Mugabe accuses the MDC of unleashing violence.

Other places where political violence and intimidation has been strongly reported entail Mbare, Glen View, Kuwadzana, Harare’s uptown suburbs, Chitungwiza and Ruwa.

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