Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Report on pre-election political violence in Mberengwa to political disturbances. The threats he received forced him to cut his schooling short for the time being. Case 5: (Victim aged 78) Zanu (PF) supporters approached his home at about 1.00 am while he was asleep and broke into his house and beat him up. They did the same to his wife. They broke his sewing machines and door paddocks and stole $5 000. 87 72 68 64 59 54 50 46 42 38 34 30 26 22 18 25 20 15 10 5 0 14 Number of Victims Ageof victims Age profile Age Gender distribution There are a greater number of females than males in the Mberengwa area. However composition of Gender Distribution victims by gender shows that more males were attacked than females. It is therefore possible to conclude that males were targeted to a greater extent than females. The ratio of male to female victims being 3:2. 250 Gender profile of victims 210 200 150 125 Female Male 100 50 0 Dates of incidents Incidents of political violence were relatively low throughout the months of March and April with one and six cases recorded respectively [see table below]. A sharp rise in the number of incidents of politically incited violence, intimidation, threats, and property damage occurred in the period closer to elections. Perpetrators perhaps believed that with these incidents fresh in the mind of the victims at the time of going to the polls, the votes they cast would be in favour of the ruling party. One hundred and eleven incidents were reported for the month of May. Pre-election political unrest peaked in the month of June, when elections were held, with two hundred and ten cases reported. This shows the mood and atmosphere in which the elections in Mberengwa were held. As can also be seen there is a significant decline in the violence after the election. It is difficult to assess whether this was wholly due to the fact that Zanu (PF) won all the seats, or that more than 200 individuals were arrested during the next two months. It is important to note here that the electoral result has been challenged in the courts, and, if successful, will result in by-elections being run in the constituencies in this area. With the release of virtually all the perpetrators under the general amnesty promulgated by President Mugabe, it is possible that extreme violence could return to Mberengwa in the very near future. 5