48 Amani Trust case number 654 Report number Sex male 24 Name C.C Age 32 ID number Province Mashonaland Central District Muzarabani Political Affiliation Date of report 05/02/02 Nature of incident Assault Date of incident 13/01/02 Employment Unemployed Perpetrators Zanu PF supporters Case history C.C. was looking for his cattle in Mudoka Village on 13/01/02 when he was intercepted by a group of approximately twenty people accusing him of belonging to the MDC because he was ‘well dressed and groomed’. He was beaten with sticks and batons and was hit in the chest with a brick. Medical assessment SRQ-8 Score: 1 On clinical examination 3 weeks after the event the patient had a painful swollen right wrist with very limited function. Xray showed no evidence of fracture, and the patient was treated with analgesia and physiotherapy. 2 months later the patient was still complaining of pain and reduced function, and was re Xrayed, again there was no skeletal fractures, and the pain and swelling finally settled with intensive physiotherapy. Psychiatric assessment 44 days after the traumatic event C.C had recurrent intrusive thoughts of the trauma. He also had nightmares of the torture and related that he becomes very distressed when he reads stories about political violence in the newspapers. He sometimes finds himself crying when he recalls what happened to him. He admitted to being afraid to go back to his home area and had a sense of foreshortened future. He had problems with sleep and has been more irritable since the attack. On mental state examination he had a low mood and depressed affect. He had loss of energy, insomnia and he expressed feelings of helplessness and hopelessness He had some paranoid ideas and his concentration was impaired. He had no suicidal ideas. A diagnosis of PTSD comorbid with major depressive disorder was made. AMANI TRUST: Beating your opposition. Torture during the 2002 Presidential campaign in Zimbabwe.