presence of the whole family including a five-year-old boy and a fourteen-year-old girl. The fourteen-year-old girl was so terrified that she urinated on herself on the blankets she was sitting. When she tried to go out of the room so that she could relieve herself in the toilet the soldiers accused her of trying to run away and started beating her with sjamboks. The complainant’s son was assaulted with logs, sjamboks, and booted feet and his genitals were swollen and injured. He was walking with his legs apart. When he was being beaten, complainant was hurt and he tried to explain to the soldiers that he was a visitor who arrived that day and had not taken part in the protests. She was then beaten by the soldiers with a sjambok. She could not sit for a week as a result of the pain. She would spend the day lying down. When a nurse in the neighborhood heard that the child was assaulted she told the complainant to bring her to the clinic and she was attended to. However, she was given a prescription and complainant could not buy the medication due to financial constraints. The ZHRC referred them to Counselling Services Unit for free medical assistance. Complainant stated that her son was assisted by his employers to get medication. Complainant was worried about the prevailing lawlessness saying she and her family were almost attacked by protestors who were forcing people to join them and later on they were harassed and abused by soldiers whom they expected to protect them. 5.8.10. Other young men who were interviewed in the area said when they realised that soldiers were beating people they ran to the maize fields to hide. They said soldiers were beating all young men indiscriminately. They said no one in their area was involved in the protests. The road was blocked by people who came to their area from Mabvuku Road and they could not restrain them because they were many and threatening everyone holding a phone in their hands because they did not want to have their pictures taken. Page 31 of 68

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