“Martyrs for democracy” is the headline on a touching message from Morgan Tsvangirai, published in a local newspaper on Friday, in a tribute to those killed since the elections on March 29. The message from Zimbabwe’s leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change appears on a page of the weekly tabloid, The Independent. He writes: “We appeal as Zimbabweans to our military, militia and to any of our fellow citizens to stop the bloodshed. There is no need for any loss of life. Not yours, not ours. Not any Zimbabweans. Count the votes not the dead bodies… sons and daughters of Zimbabwe are being murdered for no other reason than they voted… We shall act on their behalf to bring those committing crimes against humanity to an international court of justice.” He signs off: ‘”I will be with you shortly. Sincerely and sadly, Morgan.”
The page carries the names of eight dead, including five-year-old Brighton Mbwere, who died while he was asleep in his parents house in Manyika village in north-eastern Zimbabwe, which was torched 10 days ago. Others killed in the first rush of violence were Murondo Temba, Tendai Chibika and Moses Bashitiyawo from the north east, where the extraordinarily savage violence continues and where the best-known politician is David Parirenyatwa, the long-serving health minister and a medical doctor. He has refused to answer any questions put to him since he was exposed last week by The Guardian brandishing an AK-47 in front of constituents in his home area Murewha. Parirenyatwa retained his parliamentary seat in the March 29 elections but has been accused by some of his constituents, lying injured in Harare hospitals, of leading one of the most violent campaigns of retribution for ZANU PF’s electoral defeat.
Tawanda Chimbwanda died in Magunje, about 200km north of Harare and deep in President Robert Mugabe’s home province of Mashonaland West. Moses Makiwa was killed in Hwedza about 75km south east of Harare. Tapiwa Mubwanda, a former prisons officer from Hurungwe East, near Karoi, 200km north of Harare, was stabbed to death two weeks ago. His relatives have named those they saw attack him, including a prominent ZANU PF politician. Mubwanda’s relatives say the Central Intelligence Organisation tried to force the family to bury him in secret at night as soon as his body was released from the morgue, but they refused and buried him last week. No arrests have been made in connection with those killed - or in connection with about 450 people now being treated by medical staff working for Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights for injuries sustained in attacks. Also, no one has been arrested for the unknown number of workers kidnapped on commercial farms in north-eastern and south-eastern districts last week.
The MDC’s welfare department is now dispersed but still tries to check information. Zimbabwe’s cellphone networks rarely work and there are no landlines available in most deep rural areas where the worst violence is taking place. The MDC says it depends on information from a fragile network of people who have neither vehicles nor resources in districts where economic collapse has grounded most rural buses from getting to Harare. There have been more deaths, the MDC says, but welfare workers are struggling to confirm names and make reports to hostile policemen in rural areas. Most MDC administrative, political and communication staff are now under arrest. The party’s headquarters are closed and its computers have been seized. Its MPs are in hiding or out of the country.
Information filtering back to Harare from rural areas reports that, in some districts where the MDC has suffered most, some of its members are fighting back. This is in the north east and in the south east, near Headlands, where Didymus Mutasa, the security minister, controls a substantial arsenal of weapons and security personnel. Before the elections it was clear that some people who claimed to be Mutasa supporters were living in fear of him and the ruling party. One man, a peasant farmer, said he would vote for Mutasa because he feared Mutasa would find out if he did not, and he would then be evicted from land given to his father by ZANU PF. Wearing a ZANU PF t-shirt and cap, he admitted that he detested Mutasa but said: “Zanu PF gave land to my father, I must protect it.” Mutasa did not respond to questions put to him this week about violence in his area. There are uncomfirmed reports that there are at least five more dead in the Headlands area from both the MDC and ZANU PF.
Simba Makoni, an independent who contested the presidential elections, said yesterday he was “very, very concerned about the brutal force and violence used against voters and which is a result of political uncertainties and the delays in finalising the elections. “We are appealing to leaders to consider re-engaging because we need to move forward. There never was a better moment for dialogue among the leadership of this country.” Makoni, a former finance minister and life-long member of ZANU PF was expelled from the party in February.
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