6 The government seemed to effectively misdirect attention; in their view the “war veterans” were simply taking back the land for the black Zimbabweans, although they neglected to mention the obvious point that in 20 years, the land issue had not been approached in any effective way. In this way, the argument could be about righteousness, and could effectively garner support from other African states, which it did. Whilst the Zanu (PF) government continued to orchestrate the play for those in the international community, and focused on the ‘land issue’, the situation on the ground was devastating. Black Zimbabweans, mostly MDC supporters or citizens who did not openly declare their complete support for Zanu (PF) were targeted all across the country. People were tortured, murdered, raped, threatened, and lied to about their voting rights; they were displaced, their property was destroyed. The evidence shows that this perpetration of violence was planned, encouraged, and budgeted for, all with the coordination of agents of the governmentviii. Zanu (PF) supporters and war veterans, agents of the government such as the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) and even Zanu (PF) leaders perpetrated violence on the electorate. Some Zanu (PF) candidates in the Parliamentary elections participated in torture and made threatsix. The police during this period were rendered almost completely ineffectual. At times they were responsible for the perpetration of crimes, or collusion with perpetrators. Often when violence was reported to them, they told victims they had no jurisdiction, or if they investigated the crime, they would be involving themselves in politics. Zanu (PF) leaders made public death threats and were not held accountable. Josaya Hungwe, the Masvingo Provincial Governor, addressed a gathering at the Masvingo Civic Centre accompanied by the late Border Gezi, former Minister of Gender, Youth Development and Employment Creation. Hungwe said, “If you do not vote for Zanu (PF) in the coming mayoral election, people are going to be killed. I want to tell you, someone is going to die.” x Border Gezi warned opposition parties “that Zanu (PF) is well known for spilling blood.” From The Daily News 31.3.00) The President did not discourage violence; in March 2000, he stated publicly “those who try to cause disunity among our people must watch because death will befall them.” All in all the available evidence indicated that forces supportive of the Government and even government agencies were responsible for the gross human rights violations inflicted upon ordinary Zimbabweans. The election petitions were thus an interesting way to test these allegations, and to see whether the Zimbabwean High Court would validate the allegations. The evidence led before the courts allowed a number of conclusions to be drawn. Firstly, we shall deal with the alleged perpetrators of organised violence and torture. AMANI Trust: Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe