President Mugabe’s ZANU PF and the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have traded accusations of political violence following the disruption of rally organised by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party.

Tsvangirai’s MDC says it has noticed an increase in attacks on its party members, with a rally scheduled for Epworth Sunday violently disrupted by ZANU PF supporters.

Epworth MDC MP Eliah Jembere said the rally, planned for Epworth High School , was scuttled and party supporters beaten up by militants from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.

The militants went from door-to-door, sniffing out MDC supporters before attacking them.

Jembere alleged the attackers were bussed to the rally by ZANU PF Harare Province chairman and losing candidate for Epworth in the 2008 parliamentary election, Amos Midzi.

He said Midzi initially trucked in logs that were used in the attack on the eve of the rally. He said ZANU PF youths then conducted an all-night vigil at the rally venue, before pouncing on MDC supporters after the aborted rally.

ZANU PF has described the comments as cheap propaganda, saying it was the MDC supporters who attacked ZANU PF youths.

ZANU PF Harare provincial secretary for security Tonga Nheta insisted the logs were ferried to Solani in Epworth where he claimed ZANU PF youths ran a firewood project.

“The firewood delivered by Honourable Midzi was for the firewood project, not to attack MDC supporters,” he said.

While the MDC says 70 people were injured in the attack, ZANU PF says 60 MDC youths were responsible for the violence.

While MDC says Midzi’s truck was involved in the well-orchestrated attack, ZANU PF says its truck, a Mazda twin cab, was damaged by MDC youths.

ZANU PF named Ceclia Chivhunga, the Youth League deputy information secretary, and one Marbel Nzenza, who the party said were critically injured in the violence.

On the other hand, the MDC says over and above the 70 injured, four had been hospitalised after the attack. Both parties claim the injured were hospitalised at Parirenyatwa Hospital .

The MDC named Ben Zvokuomba, the MDC Ward 7 chairperson, MDC activist Patience Ziki, as some of the victims of the alleged ZANU PF violence.

The MDC alleges that acts of violence against MDC supporters had started happening in both urban and rural areas, amid reports inter-party violence had also flared up in Chegutu on Monday.

The pattern of violence was reminiscent of the attacks on MDC supporters during the 2008 elections, Jembere said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, expressed exasperation at ZANU PF’s perceived failure to implement measures agreed to as a part of the power-sharing deal, and warned that the hold-up in the Constitution-making process was also raising tensions.

The MDC has threatened to call for fresh elections if calls for regional bloc the Southern African Development Community (SADC) fails to break the deadlock.

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesman said the violence could be the beginning of worse things to come, and the depth of the crisis could not be underestimated.

“We take this very seriously,” said Chamisa, party spokesman. “We are possibly on the brink of another storm of persecution and intimidation.”

Midzi, denied the allegations he was involved in the violence.

“The barbaric act is a clear demonstration of wilful disrespect for the national healing process that the President has been championing,” said Midzi. “It is also a direct breach of the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement.

(Source)