We were being beaten by groups of youths. They were about seven
groups that would take it in turns to beat us up.35
The president of PTUZ, Takafavira Zhou, explained to those at the press conference,
When I got the call that my comrades were taken, I went to ZANU HQ
and they asked, “How do you know they are here?” When I said I was
the president of PTUZ over 30 of them jumped on me and started
beating me saying “there is only one president.” When I got to the
room where my comrades were I found that Majongwe had passed out,
Mudzuri had passed out.36
The ZANU-PF supporters also took cell phones, money, and watches from the PTUZ
members. The PTUZ members informed Human Rights Watch that a number of police
officers and CIO officers were present during the beatings. According to Raymond
Majongwe,
There were consultations as they were beating us up. When the CIOs
would come into the room, the beatings would stop. Members of the
Zimbabwe Republic Police came in, left, and the beatings continued.
Then they [the ZANU-PF supporters] panicked about the medical
condition of Harrison Mudzuri and they stopped.37
After noting the serious injuries they had inflicted on the PTUZ members, the ZANUPF supporters called the police present at the ZANU PF headquarters into the room.
The police then transported the PTUZ members to Harare police station and then to
the Avenues clinic for treatment. At the clinic, the group was kept under heavy police
guard. Majongwe told Human Rights Watch, “When we were beaten they [the police]
were panicking. They were loads of them at the hospital and they were checking
35
Ibid.
36
Takafavira Zhou speaking at PTUZ press conference attended by Human Rights Watch, Harare, February 21, 2008.
37
Raymond Majongwe speaking at PTUZ press conference attended by Human Rights Watch, Harare, February 21, 2008.
19
Human Rights Watch March 2008
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