Messages From Zimbabwe

Found dead, strangulated, and mutilated. These are some of the words a doctor and the police have used to describe the death of Movement for Democratic Change councillor for Chinake, Aloys Chandisarewa Sanyangore.

A father of six, Sanyangore was an elderly politician who tirelessly served the MDC in Murehwa ward 16.  On the 8^th of November 2008, just after midnight, a number of men surrounded his home. As the frail man stumbled to walk outside, suddenly the ‘visitors’ came upon him. Mr Sanyangore was then strangulated and his body mutilated to the extent that the doctor conducting his post mortem ended up ruling that no human being would be able to view his body and his head would be covered into the grave with other parts also masked in thick cloth.

Sanyangore’s niece, Petronella Sithole gave further details to the ZimEye of how her uncle had served the MDC till his death. She detailed how before the March elections, the elderly man had been once abducted and forced to publicly declare that he is ‘sorry for supporting the MDC’, and that he had now returned to support the ruling party.

However, despite his forced public voicing for the ruling party, Sanyangore did not know that he would in a few months’ time meet his death bed.

Another member of the family has also disclosed to the ZimEye how two unidentified men were seen following the body on the way from the mortuary. According to witnesses these men did not attend the funeral at all but were only noticed at the mortuary and disappeared afterwards.

Sanyagore’s goes into record as the 6^th man to die in the Chinake village. His daughters, Chipo Sanyangore and Patroneller Mtoko who are now in the United Kingdom fear returning to their home which has now been abandoned.

(Source)