Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Report on political violence in Bulawayo, Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands The car drove for a while, but I don’t know where to. We passed through Marimba on the way. They dropped me inside a Durawall house, belonging to Thembani. They are operating from this house in Msasa, but I do not know exactly where. They began beating me and pouring cold water from a bucket over me, saying “You are an MDC member”. They forced me to say more about the MDC, including the whereabouts of other members and the leaders, telling them where I was staying, and demanding to know why I refused to wear a Zanu (PF) T-shirt. There were at least 11 of them in the house. They took me into the toilet, and made me stand on a square of iron sheet (about 30cm by 30 cm). They then connected jump leads to the sheet, and passed electricity through it. They made me stand on it for 2-3 hours. Sometimes I fell down, and sometimes I lay on the walls. Then they brought me out and told me to take off all my clothes. I did so, and they told me to lie on the lawn. Then they said “Today is the end of your life if you don’t tell us more about the MDC”. But I refused, and when they realized that they couldn’t make me, they told me to go into the house. They locked me in a room, and I spent the whole day there. Thembani came at around 4-5 am, with beer and meat, to give to her boys. They told her that they had captured one of us, and she said to them “He’s all yours – you do whatever you want to him”. They replied that they were “still dealing with me”. At around 8.00 pm, they brought me out, and said “We’re going to torture you for the last time; we don’t care whether you die or not.” They beat me on my private parts, using fists and kicking with their boots. Then they said that they were going to release me, but told me not to tell anyone that I had been abducted for the whole day. They took me, and dropped me of about 150m away from my home at about 10 or 11 pm. I walked from there to my house, and told my wife that I had been beaten by Zanu (PF) members. I slept the whole of the next day. I was in pain, because my testes were swollen. Then I went to the police, who wrote me a letter to go to the hospital, but the doctor told me to go home. The police said that they would deal with Thembani. The police said that they would deal with Thembani. They arrested Cobra and Diamond at the place, but the others have not been arrested. Case 5: Mufakose I am an MDC official in Mufakose. I heard that there were threats that my house would be destroyed and I would be killed. I went to the police, but the police told me they do not take action on the basis of threats. I organized 20 MDC youths to guard my home. On the 10 June, while I was at home, Border Gezi and Sabina Thembani drove past my house in two cars. They were pointing at my house. The police also passed the house, and I told them what had happened. At about 1.00 pm, a white truck came to my house, with about 30 Zanu (PF) youths on it. They threatened the youths that I had organized, but left after exchanging some words. The police came immediately thereafter. The police asked how many people there were at my house, and when I told him, he wanted to know why there were so many. After I had explained, he said that everyone should leave, and that I should remain on my own. The Zanu (PF) youths came again, and were repelled by our youths. I then dismissed about 14 of my guys, leaving 6 to protect the house. I went out with two guys to buy flour to make paste for sticking up our posters. While we were out, the Zanu (PF) youths came again. This was around 7.00 pm. They broke all the windows, broke into the house, and destroyed furniture. They entered my bedroom as well. There was about $18 000 in the house, and they took this, along with my wife’s sewing machine. The estimated damage they did was about $30 000 to $60 000 worth of property. My wife and daughter were at the house whilst the Zanu (PF) people were destroying it. My daughter was choked, and my wife was struck on the hip with an axe. We went to the police to make a report, after recalling the guys that I had dismissed. My wife and the 3 other people who were there can identify the people who did it. We gave the names to the police. Two days later, on the 12 June, the police came around in the afternoon. They searched the house, claiming that we were keeping guns and petrol bombs on the premises. They did not find anything. Our guards were told to leave, and they did so, but came back after the police had left. They were picked up by the police on the 16 June, and are being held at the Central Police Station. Case 6: Mufakose At about 10.00 pm on the 9 June, 5 men carrying iron bars came to our house I didn’t recognize them, and they were wearing ordinary clothes. My husband answered the door, and they asked him if he was an MDC member. He said yes, and they said “You are the most important, so we want to deal with you”. There were only three of us in the house. They beat him between the legs with an iron bar. The neighbours came to see what had happened, and the men disappeared. We went to MDC members to tell them what had happened. They gave him money to go to hospital, but he still hasn’t been able to get any medicine. 30