30 N.C. was subsequently assaulted at Sadza Growth Point on 4 April 2001 after he escorted NGO forum lawyers to assess the situation in Chikomba. He was beaten with booted feet and fists all over the body. As a result of the assault, he experiences backache and headache. • In April 2000 P.Z. was approached by ZANU (PF) supporters whilst at work at Sadza Growth Point. They demanded MDC t-shirts and cards, threatening to beat him up or kill him if he did not comply. On another occasion in April they beat him up, slapping him and hitting him with fists, tearing his shirt and trousers. In May 2000, he was abducted on three occasions. The first instance, he was taken to a police officer. The police officer threatened to beat him up and was looking for a whip when he was disturbed by a phone call, so P.Z. was able to escape. The second time he was taken from his home by three ZANU (PF) youths and taken to the council beer hall grounds to a room where he was slapped, beaten with fists, and sat upon. They accused him of being a white man’s puppet. He escaped when they allowed him to go home to lock up his house. On the third occasion in May he was again abducted and taken to the fields by three ZANU (PF) youths and was ordered to sit in the grass and not scratch as insects bit him or he would die. He sat for about an hour. When he was allowed home his goat shed had been burnt and two goats were dead and some missing. His chicken run was burnt and out of 200 chickens, only 20 remained. On the polling days in June 2000, he was twice chased from his duties as a polling agent and found boxes tampered with. He was threatened with death by a police officer who showed him three bullets meant for him. On 10 March 2001 ZANU (PF) supporters beat him again. He experiences joint, chest, and jaw pains. He has been in ill health since all these incidents and has had a chronic rash since being sat in the grass. • M.M. alighted from a bus he had just taken from Harare in June 2001, when he was immediately accosted by a mob of youths in ZANU (PF) t-shirts. They shouted that he was selling the country and that they would destroy his home. They beat him with a pick handle, hoe handles, and an iron bar. He sustained swelling of the right shoulder and left knee. He managed to escape and moved from Chikomba. Assault of lawyers43 The Chairperson of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) was assaulted along with a witness in the parliamentary election petitions in ZANU (PF) instigated violence in the Chikomba constituency on Saturday, 7 April. Two lawyers working for the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum narrowly escaped. In a letter to the Commissioner of Police in Harare, Mr. Tawanda Hondora, of ZLHR, stated that members of ZANU (PF) assaulted him while police watched. Mr. Gabriel Shumba and Mr. Godfrey Mupanga, both of the Forum, managed to escape but were threatened with assault when they arrived at the local Sadza Police Station to make a complaint. The three had travelled to Chikomba, in the Mashonaland East province, to investigate allegations of intimidation and assault directed at witnesses in the election challenges currently before the High Court. Mr. Hondora is representing Peter Kaunda, the MDC candidate for Chikomba, who is contesting his defeat on the basis of abuses directed at MDC supporters and electoral irregularities. They arrived at Sadza Growth Point and soon noticed a crowd wearing ZANU (PF) tshirts and army attire assembling in the area. Mr. Shumba went for the car in case violence occurred while the other two stayed behind to witness the rally. The crowd soon 43 This incident was reported earlier. See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2001), Report on Election-related Political Violence in Chikomba, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM. AMANI TRUST: Organised Violence and Torture in the Bye-Elections held in Zimbabwe during 2000 and 2001.