in their custody without food and water before they released him. Jena was
subjected to numerous beatings and assault over the two days.
On the morning of June 24, six unknown men wearing ZANU-PF t-shirts visited Jena’s
offices in Bindura and demanded to see him outside the offices. When Jena informed
the men they would have to make an appointment, the men grabbed him and forced
him into a green car which had several ZANU-PF stickers on its sides. The men drove
about 10 kilometers outside of Bindura before they stopped in a secluded area and
assaulted Jena. He told Human Rights Watch:
They forcibly removed my pants and proceeded to beat me on the
buttocks and on my back using thick tree branches. It lasted for 30
minutes and they ordered me to surrender all MDC materials. When I
told them that I did not have any MDC materials they said I was being
uncooperative and that they were going to teach me a lesson. They put
me in the back of the car, drove towards Bindura and handed me over
to a ZANU-PF gang leader who is well known in Bindura for beating and
killing people opposed to ZANU-PF. He was brandishing an AK-47 rifle
and ordered me to get in the car with him. He was in the company of
three others who were also wearing ZANU-PF regalia. They drove me to
some unknown place along Chiweshe communal farming area. Again I
was ordered to lie prone on my stomach and they started beating me
on the buttocks with wooden sticks and sjamboks. I was told I was a
sell out for being an MDC lawyer and I had to die for that.33
33
Human Rights Watch interview with Ernest Jena, Harare, July 3, 2008.
“They Beat Me Like a Dog”
18
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