Political Killings And Abductions of MDC Activists Escalate
SW Radio Africa (London)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May 2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The brutal murder of MDC activist Beta Chokururama in Murehwa on Sunday
and
the abduction of Tonderai Ndira from Mabvuku on Wednesday highlight the
country's spiralling crisis of political killings and kidnappings.
Chokururama was abducted with three other activists' 10km after Juru
growth
point on his way to Ngwerume village in Murehwa, to say goodbye to his
mother. The group had planned to flee the country the following day and
seek
refuge in South Africa.
The four activists were driving in a car when it was sandwiched by two
twin
cabs carrying about eight men, believed to be state agents. They were
forced
to stop and in a desperate bid, locked themselves in the vehicle.
Wise Mayengeza, an MDC activist who decided at the last minute not to
travel
with the group to Murehwa, said the state agents smashed the windscreen
and
windows and pulled them out of the car.
'They were blindfolded and taken to different places. One of them who
managed to escape under the cover of darkness, was taken to a torture
camp.
He only managed to get to Harare Tuesday where he explained what had
happened,' Mayengeza said.
Chokururama's body was discovered not too far away from where they were
abducted. He had a gunshot and four deep stab wounds to his back. The
other
two activists are still missing and believed dead.
'We understand there are two bodies that fit their descriptions at a
hospital mortuary in Murehwa. We're making plans to travel there and
investigate if the bodies are that of our friends,' Mayengeza said.
Shockingly Chokururama was abducted and tortured and left for dead, three
weeks ago. State agents told him then that he was number 17 on their
hit-list of influential activists from Harare and Mashonaland East
province.
At the time of his murder he was still trying to recover from this serious
attack.
He had also spent four months in prison during the 2007 government
crackdown
on the MDC.
On Wednesday heavily armed and masked men abducted the MDC's security
secretary for Harare province, Tonderai Ndira, from his Mabvuku home.
Ndira, who has been arrested 35 times and badly beaten on countless
occasions, was abducted from his home in Chizhanje, Mabvuku by nine armed
men. The group included a policeman based in Goromonzi identified by an
eyewitness.
He was assaulted, then driven away ****d in a white Toyota single cab
truck,
Registration number 772-224T. Ndira was number 34 on the hit list,
according
to Mayengeza. His colleagues and family said they are very concerned about
his safety.
The MDC has said the attacks on it's activists and sup****ters are mostly
carried out by known state agents, militias and soldiers, who shoot or
stab
the victims before escaping in cars. No one has been arrested or
prosecuted
for the over 33 deaths re****ted so far.
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