40 and their supporters would kill them. If Tshovani did not comply, Chauke threatened to take Tshovani’s property and land away. Mutemachani reiterated that a vote for MDC would invite war and death, and if the Chief did not instruct the village headsman to tell their villagers to vote Zanu (PF), the Chief’s maize and tractor would be set alight. The MDC asked the Chief if he could campaign in the area, and subsequently, a week later, his house was burnt. Shamiso Nyati Mhelkwa reported in the Shurugwi election petition that Zanu (PF) supporters threatened her saying they wanted her head. She received death threats and developed high blood pressure from the stress. She also had to close down the preschool, which she ran because of pressure and intimidation. Mhelkwa then fled Shurugwi to Masvingo for one month because of these threats. On 4 June 2000, around 9 pm, war veterans and Zanu (PF) youth ambushed the car carrying Chiredzi South candidate Patrick Tsumele and his colleagues at a road junction near Chikombedzi Township. Since Tsumele was warned in advance, he was not attacked. Tsumele’s home was surrounded by encamped war veterans and ZANU (PF) supporters who screamed, “We want his head.” Tsumele was virtually imprisoned in his home. He could not go out and freely campaign. S. Mbiza testified that he was arrested and detained for no reason on 16 June 2000 by Sergeant Verengera and a member of the CIO. After being interrogated about the whereabouts of Patrick Tsumele, Mbiza was driven by members of the CIO, including one called Chiyangwa, to Tsumele’s home and ordered him to open the door. Tsumele was nowhere to be found. Mbiza was detained further, taken to the Magistrates Court and granted bail of $1000. Destruction of Property/Theft Zanu (PF) supporters and groups of Zanu (PF) youth, in their rampages through the community, would perpetrate theft, burn homes and destroy property of citizens and MDC members. This is especially difficult for the mostly rural and poverty-stricken population in Zimbabwe, because people were left homeless and items lost could not be replaced. After he was threatened and fled to Harare, Beni Jacha testified in Mutoko South that the local Land Committee reallocated his land to a policeman. Maxwell Hodzi sits on this committee. Jacha received a note bearing the stamp of the District War Veterans Association on 3 January, 2001 which said, ‘You should know this (land) is not yours. You must not go against the party (Zanu (PF)) or you will be chased away’. He was told that if he returned to his land that people with rifles would visit him. To this day war veterans still occupy his land. Panganayi Makwara testified that war veterans visited his homestead and burned numerous buildings. Although he lives in the Mudzi constituency, Makwara campaigned for the MDC in Mutoko South, which is very close to his home. A three-room house, a cottage and a kitchen hut were all burned during the attack. His family had to desert his homestead out of fear of further attack. Muziiwa testified in the Murehwa North case that he returned from work in Harare on 13 May and found his home destroyed. Windows were broken, and the property inside was destroyed, including all kitchen equipment, beds, radios, pictures, and 90 kgs of maize. The roof was also burnt. He tried to report the matter to the police, but they told him that they did not take cases that dealt with politics. He relocated his family to Zvimba. Mrs. Muziiwa tells the story as she witnessed it. Young men wearing Zanu (PF) t-shirts and carrying switches came to her house on 13 May and asked for MDC cards and t-shirts. Two women wearing Zanu (PF) t-shirts came after they left and asked her who she supported, to which she told them that she supported no one. They spit in her face. The women went to her AMANI Trust: Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe