THE ZANU PF messiahs of violence descended in the mining town of Shamva, 90km north east of the capital Harare, where they unleashed an orgy of violence and forced more than 50 people to flee their homes.

Zimbabwe Violence Intensifies Prior Run-off Elections

Shamva is in Mashonaland Central Province and is considered a ZANU PF stronghold but the party lost some of the seats in the council elections for the area to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

The attacks on the civil society and opposition supporters left scores of people injured and has since been strongly condemned by the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisation and the Movement for Democratic Change party.

According to Gift Tembo, a desk-top publisher, the ZANU PF supporters arrived in Wadzanai around 5pm and started by stoning window panes and satellite dishes on houses in the periphery of the suburb.

“When they arrived, we thought they were going to hold a political rally as had been the case in the past few weeks but we were disturbed when the ZANU PF supporters attacked houses with missiles.”

“It was apparent that they targeted those homes with satellite dishes and we later heard their leader Mutambudzi saying residents with access to foreign television channels were influencing other people to vote for the MDC,” narrated Tembo.

At least 100 ZANU PF supporters, made up of the youth militia from training camps, the war veterans and the ruffians who pan gold along rivers came in three lorries and a bus for the offensive.

Puwayi Afiras who stays near the centre of the township said some residents went to their rooftops to bring down the satellite dishes and save their homes being targeted

“We removed the dishes so that they will not attack my house as some of the ZANU PF supporters began attacking people on the streets.”

“As residents we ganged up and retaliated and soon it was free for all.”

“The police officers from Wadzanai station even provoked us as they wanted to arrest residents instead of the intruders who had attacked us.”

“I am not really into politics but the madness shown by ZANU PF will prompt me to vote against them,” said Afiras.

Tembo said the ZANU PF supporters did retreat from the area after the clashes but returned around midnight in more convoys of cars.

“We were caught unaware on their return as some of us were asleep and were actually awakened by cries of help and noise from the streets.”

“There was no time to strategize our defence and we had to flee our homes together with the children.”

“Imagine that I spent the whole two nights in the river bed in this winter and fear that my two year old daughter will catch pneumonia,” said Tembo.

Tembo has since fled to Harare and sought sanctuary at the Methodist Church in Mufakose suburb.

“Most of the women and children have returned home but as men we are still being hunted for having retaliated in the first attack.”

“We were around 100 people who fled and only half have returned home,” said Tembo.

Reports of ZANU PF sanctioned attacks have also been filtering through from Mutoko, Wedza, Headlands, Nyamandlovu, Beatrice and Macheke farming areas.

“NANGO strongly condemns the raids on Civil Society Organizations that have occurred around the country in the aftermath of the March 29, 2008 harmonised elections.”

The raids have been invariably characterised by intimidation and harassment.

“The election environment for the run-off is negatively impacted not only by these crackdowns but also by the increasing violence inflicted on ordinary citizens in all parts of the country since 29 March election day,” read the statement by Nango.

The MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai also weighed with an attack on the police and the dysfunctional Government.

A total of 25 MDC supporters have been killed by ZANU PF youth militia while 5 000 families have been displaced. Another 4 000 have received injuries and a high number of them have been hospitalised.

“Police have been blessing some of the violence yet we maintain that our police force should not only be blind to political party colour but remain alive to their professional call to serve our motherland and its entire people.

“Some of raids come at a time when a delegation from the South African government is visiting Zimbabwe to ascertain the crisis that has been created by ZANU PF after the party lost the 29 March 2008 elections,” the MDC information department said.

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