19 workers were beaten up, and his farm equipment was destroyed. His home at Bindura was also destroyed. Masvingo South - Zacharia Rioga, MDC In the Masvingo South constituency Zanu (PF) MP Eddison Zvobgo and Rioga reached an out-ofcourt agreement to settle allegations of violence and misconduct. Rioga himself was attacked by a group of 200 Zanu (PF) supporters on 21 June 2000. He sustained serious head injuries and eventually had to be airlifted to Harare General Hospital where he remained for more than a month. The agreement calls for Rioga to withdraw his petition after Zvobgo acknowledged and condemned the fact that violence adversely affected the MDC’s ability to campaign in the constituency. In a statement, Zvobgo said, “I condemn inter-party violence in the strongest terms.” In a separate statement, Rioga said, “I am glad that the respondent himself has acknowledged that the attack perpetrated on me by war veterans sympathetic to the ruling party was a wicked act and a barbaric act which cannot be condoned in a democratic society.” The two have pledged to work together to combat violence in the constituency. Mutoko South - Matthew Rukwata, MDC Rukwata testified that he was the first MDC candidate for Mutoko South but was forced to step down because of threats, beatings and an abduction that lasted three weeks. On the 20 th of April 2000, Rukwata testified that he returned home to find that war veterans had been there and searched his room. Later in the day, he was kidnapped in a car and taken to a country club. He was taken into a private room and stripped of his national ID card. Once there he was accused of sitting down without permission and forced to roll on the floor. He was asked why he wanted to be a member of the ‘white man’s party’. He answered that it was a ‘party for the workers’ at which point he was slapped and kicked. He fell to the ground and injured his tooth. At the club he saw Arimigia Jimu, an MDC supporter who was also abducted. Over the three weeks he was repeatedly assaulted, forced to sleep on the floor and often handcuffed. He was then returned to his homestead with no explanation. He then fled to Harare where he renounced his candidacy for the parliamentary seat from Mutoko South. Shurugwi - Lucia Matibenga, MDC The petitioner, Matibenga, reported numerous cases of threats against MDC supporters in the Shurugwi area. Many Zanu (PF) leaders, including President Robert Mugabe, made addresses nationwide threatening the MDC. War veterans called for a second liberation war if the MDC won the elections. There were also numerous cases of threats, violence and intimidation that caused MDC supporters to stop campaigning or flee the area. Matibenga said that she personally received a ‘death list’ of MDC supporters that included her name. Zvishavane - Farai Maruzani, MDC Maruzani testified to numerous incidents of threats against him and his family. He received numerous death threats to his home phone. He later purchased a cell phone with two separate numbers and received threats on both of those as well. He eventually had to flee his home after his wife and children were threatened and claimed that there were three attempts on his life. Because he was the MDC candidate the party allocated several youth members who would inform him in advance of any kidnapping or assassination attempts against him. He also reported overhearing assailants at the Musuki Business Centre attack say that MDC supporters would be identified and that they would ‘wreak havoc’ on them. Maruzani, a certified social worker, subsequently conducted interviews with victims of th electoral violence, and in addition documented his experiences during the run-up to the election in his constituency. He describes the violence in vivid detail. Following is an excerpt from his writings on an incident that occurred on 9 April at Mushaya Business Centre. xiii It was a sunny Sunday morning on 9 April 2000. We went to Mushaya Business Centre, about 6 kilometres from Zvishavane Town. We had planned to have a rally there and our posters were all over. As we walked to Mushaya, a white Mazda pick-up belonging to the CIO followed us slowly AMANI Trust: Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe