37 abducted when a group of Zanu (PF) supporters screamed ‘There is the MDC’ and took him to a base camp. He identified Maxwell Hodzi as being present at the base camp. Jimu testified that during his detention he was forced to participate in morning runs with Zanu (PF) recruits. He shared a room with Matthew Rukwata where they were handcuffed to a bench at night. He was often assaulted. He also had his hair cut against his wishes. Jimu further claimed that he was forced to go on raids with Zanu (PF) supporters to beat up MDC supporters approximately five or six times. He was constantly under guard and could not escape. While being transported, he was often taken in a District Development Fund (DDF) vehicle. The DDF is a government institution that is supposed to be apolitical. Nicholas Mudzengerere, the petitioner in the Makoni East case described the abduction of two MDC youth members. On 9 May 2000, Mudzengerere arrived in Rusape from Harare with MDC T-shirts for Jameson Mairchu and Brian Tonderai to distribute at a meeting that afternoon. Mudzengerere, Felix, (another MDC member), and the two young men began walking to the venue of the meeting. Mudzengerere and Felix crossed the road, but the two young men waited to cross because of oncoming traffic. Felix and Mudzengerere heard some commotion and turned to see the two youth being forced into a white defender vehicle. The vehicle turned and drove off as Felix and Mudzengerere approached. Witnesses told Mudzengerere that it was a Zanu (PF) vehicle. Mudzengerere sent word to Pishai, his coordinator, to cancel the meeting since the youth had been abducted. The two young men were set free later that afternoon and identified Chipanga as being present in the car during the abduction. Tonderai elaborated further on his experience in the narrative of the medical report. He said that both men were beaten with iron bars all over the body, and threatened with death for supporting the opposition party. They were both taken to Mucheke River where 12 Zanu (PF) supporters threatened to throw them in. Tonderai experiences chronic pain in the shoulders and the middle of his spine. Margaret Tavengerwe had to be subpoenaed to testify before the High Court in the Shurugwi case. She testified that she would not come voluntarily because, ‘I was afraid to be beaten up since I’ve been beaten before.’ Mrs. Tavengerwe was cleaning at the local Women’s Club when she was approached by a band of ZANU (PF) youth armed with sticks and small axes who demanded to be taken to her home. Once there they ransacked her home looking for MDC paraphernalia. They did not find any MDC items including the t-shirt she had hidden in a pot but proceeded to beat her unconscious in her own bedroom. Tavengerwe was beaten, hit in the head with a small axe and stabbed with a knife in the buttocks. She was unconscious for about two hours until her husband returned home and took her to the hospital. She was in the hospital for three days and to this day has problems lifting heavy items, has pain in her biceps and still has nightmares of the incident. She did not make a police report because Zanu (PF) supporters were camped near the police station and she feared being victimized again. Rape Rape is a grossly underreported crime in Zimbabwe. According to the Musasa Project, a Zimbabwean NGO that deals with violence against women, there is a considerable uncertainty about the true extent of domestic and sexual violence in Zimbabwe. The private and stigmatized nature of the crime makes women reluctant to disclose what happened to them, either to friends, family, or service providers. This leaves the magnitude of the problem hidden from society. However, the problem is widespread and is a significant problem. Women suffered gendered crimes such as rape, in addition to being victims of assault, threats and other crimes during the election period. During the violence surrounding the pre-election campaigning, the non-action by the police to other forms of violence encouraged men to take advantage of the prevailing lack of law to reinforce their supremacy over women through rape. AMANI Trust: Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe