Chiyangwa testified that he was kidnapped in the car park of a Harare hotel, a black hood thrown over his head, and driven by a long and circuitous route to an underground location where he was detained in solitary confinement in a completely dark vermininfested cell for two weeks, with no toilet facilities; here he was interrogated for hours on end, threatened and intimidated until he had a mild stroke, but was denied medical attention; his condition was later confirmed by a Government and private doctor who recommended hospitalisation, but this was refused; he was denied legal representation until brought to court on 30 December 2004. Karidza, whose trial for spying began on 27 January 2005, was not brought to court sooner as there were reports that he had been so badly tortured that the CIO did not want him seen in public until he had somewhat recovered. More than a month after his arrest sources said he was still unable to walk or talk properly after severe torture, his legs were badly swollen and he was unable to eat. On 8 February 2005 the remaining three men were jailed after a secret trial in which they tried to withdraw guilty pleas made earlier. Their allegations that confessions had been made under duress were rejected. Dzvairo was sentenced to six years, while Marchi and Matambanadzo got five years each. There is no news on the detained South African ‘spymaster’, said to have been arrested first and who revealed the names of his Zimbabwean contacts. A commentator in South Africa said he would not have done so until he had reached his “pain threshold.”A South African opposition spokesman went further: “Zimbabwe’s security forces, and especially its CIO, have an infamous reputation for severe human rights abuses” and called for a special sitting of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence to address “possible human rights violations against a South African citizen.” [Sources: New Zimbabwean.com 23 and 30 December 2004, 23 and 29 January 2005, 8 and 10 February 2005; ZimbabweOnLine 6 and 8 January 2005; The Witness 1 February 2005; The Herald 28 January 2005; SABC News 23 January 2005] The ‘spy-scandal’ is another example of intra-Zanu-PF fighting in which State agencies are directly involved on one side or another; Chiyangwa and his Zanu-PF colleagues are known to be Emmerson Mnangagwa supporters and have apparently become victims in the succession battle between rival camps following Joyce Mujuru’s elevation to the vice presidency. Finally, the torture of Zanu-PF leaders has taken the CIO to further depths, adding another dimension to fear as polling day approaches. 17