Human Rights Forum Report: Who was responsible?
the Zanu (PF) office. I was holding a gas canister which they thought may be a bomb so they pushed us out again.
Fortunately at that moment some soldiers were driving by. They saw us and took us into their armoured vehicle,
then the bus was told to follow them. At a certain point they stopped and we got back on the bus and went home. The
case was reported at Dotito, but Marodza was never picked up. They have been trying to kidnap me because they
know I have all the information about Zanu (PF) since I used to once be an aspiring candidate for that party in my
area. But I gave the seat to someone called Patel. They know I am popular. I was organising well and I went as far
as Kaytan. In one month MDC support boomed. There were no Zanu (PF) in my area. When they realised that is
when I began to have big problems. I could not travel on any bus. There were people waiting for me everywhere.
On 10 May I was beaten. There was a rally by Border Gezi at the Dande shops. I was outside. I wanted to come to
town to Harare to draw money. I was talking to some MDC supporters as I waited for the bus. There were about
seven of us. Then when someone from the rally saw me, they left the rally with the intention of kidnapping and
killing me. There were two trucks of Zanu (PF) supporters - more than 40 of them. I was beaten badly. They had
axes, spears and sticks. They attacked us and I was injured on the eye, leg, head and chest. I fought until they left
me for dead. If there is a tense situation here, we cross into Mozambique since we are near the border. It‟s about 4
kms to the border from my house. I was trying to escape, but was wounded. There is a land mine company called
Minetec, which found me and the doctor treated me. They are doing mine clearance near the border and because
no one can come through those areas where they took me for treatment; that is how I survived. Then I decided to
look for my relative Kagogoda who is Mozambican. I fought myself for Frelimo in 1971 so I know the area. My
relative John had already heard of the fighting at Dande and he gapped into Mozambique to find Kagogoda. He
reached Kagogoda‟s home and I came later. Then John went out to look for cigarettes and he was captured by the
Frelimo police. Kagogoda was also caught and he was told to go and find me. Joyce Mujuru had given them the
order to kill me. They were told they would be paid $25,000. John was held for four days, but Kagogoda came and
told me to run. I went from there to Dzete, then Nyamapanda and then to Harare. The people who are organising
this violence in my area are Gezi, Mujuru and Marodza. The youths are said to be paid $500 a day. They were
staying at the Kamsenzere school camp under Marodza, but one of the leaders there, Karicoga, was arrested after
the Pfebve‟s brother was killed. I was there at that time of the battle in Mukumbura when they came to kill him. I am
sure I saw Marodza in a car even today in Harare. I suspect he has been sent to look for me and I am even having
to hide here. I cannot stay in one place for long. [Note: John Zvenyika was present during the interview and
confirmed this statement also adding that, “ When I was imprisoned by those Frelimo, they showed me that letter
from Mujuru saying that Zulu must be caught with $25 000 for his head. They were thinking of telling Mujuru that
I was the one. Then they decided they would release me for $4000, which Kagogoda managed to raise from Zulu.
After I gave them the money I was released.”]
Saviour Kasukuwere, Border Gezi, Nicholas Goche and Chen Chimutengwende
Case 22: N.M. (Male) — 13 April 2000
We had gone for a rally in Mount Darwin on 13 April. When we reached Mount Darwin, the police took us to the
police camp and said „You can‟t do your rally here because the Zanu (PF) candidate for Mt Darwin, Saviour
Kasukuwere, doesn‟t want to see you here‟. He‟s an ex-CIO. We said we have booked for the rally and if they want
to kill us they can do so here. Our national coordinator said we should go to Rushinga as the situation was not so
tense there and we could eat freely, then come back for the rally later. After coming from Rushinga, we passed
Kasukuwere‟s house along the road. He had hired about 1000 youths. They were by the roadside. He was not there
and had gone to fetch more people in a lorry. There were also two vehicles belonging to CIOs. The youths on the
road started throwing stones and the police fired teargas at us instead of those who were attacking. There were two
men in police uniforms, but they were not really police. I know those guys from Bindura. I worked at Kelly‟s
restaurant which was beside the CIO office and I used to see them all the time. They were CIOs. There were also
two CIOs in soldiers uniform. They were armed with sub-machine guns and pistols. I was driving a Toyota Hilux
and I had hired a kombi. We had a lorry, and a Nissan diesel which belongs to Elliot Pfebve, the aspiring candidate
for Bindura. All the boys from the cars got down to take stones and throw them back so that we could pass through.
We succeeded in fighting back and managed to move forward. Among the attackers were ex-combatants and some
of them were armed with guns. Then we drove forward towards Mt Darwin. When we reached the junction of the
road, Kasukuwere was there in his Benz with more than 500 youths in a lorry. He pointed a gun and fired shots
from a pistol. He fired about seven, but they didn‟t hit anyone. The first one nearly hit me as I was at the front, but
I ducked down. I was at the front of the delegation driving. He must have aimed at me because then I would crash
and he could have attacked the others on the back. They youths were throwing stones at us. We managed again to
keep on driving through them. There were policemen standing on the corners. They shouted we should turn
towards Bindura. We did so, but we went about 500 metres, before he overtook in his Mercedes and with the
Mazda‟s belonging to the CIO. They blocked the road and we were forced to stop. Kasukuwere and the others were
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