Mercedes Sayagues
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally in Mbare township ends peacefully at 3.30pm. I am waiting for a lift into town with an MDC candidate when a group of young men arrives. One is badly wounded – gashes on his head and lips, broken teeth, his shorts spattered with blood. He says that as a small group of MDC supporters walked from Highfield to Mbare through Machipisa, a larger group stormed out of the Zanu Highfield district office on the main road. They attacked the MDC crowd with chairs, sticks and stones.
The wounded man, Diamond Karanda, agrees to file a police report. We first go to Mbare police station. Although by law police must take a complaint and transfer it, they refuse. We then drive to Machipisa police station, 50m away from where the clash took place. Didn’t hear a thing, says the constable. He won’t file a report until the commanding officer comes. He turns up, but has to attend to “more violence” elsewhere and takes off in a police Defender. Worried about their people, the MDC supporters follow in their car. The violence turns out to be a beer hall brawl.
Back at the police precinct, a dozen Zanu bullies crowd the front yard.
They start quarrelling with the MDC supporters. Meanwhile, Karanda makes his report. He is told to get into a police vehicle to go to the Zanu offices and identify an attacker.
Two steps from the door, the biggest and meanest of the Zanu guys grabs me by my shoulders and shakes me: “What are you doing here? Who told you to come here?” The commanding officer is right next to me when this happens.
It takes him a minute to react. He orders Big Bully to let go of me and get lost. He tells me to go inside and file a complaint for assault. He drives away. Karanda and two policemen leave in a Santana. One cop takes a rifle because “the situation is volatile”.
I wait at the door of the police station. Another drunk Zanu bully, wearing a floppy hat, harasses me: “If you don’t like our government, go back to your country, or we will beat you up,” he says, shaking his finger under my nose. I am standing next to a policewoman who watches impassively.
Eventually, Floppy Hat runs out of steam. He and two others leave in a police Santana, driven by a policeman. Six bullies remain. They threaten the MDC guys – all this within the police premises. The constables do nothing. At one point, a large policewoman shouts not to make so much noise. It works for five minutes, then the racket continues. The MDC guys are remarkably cool, low-key and conciliatory.
Twenty minutes later, Karanda returns. He was beaten up again at the Zanu office. The police failed to protect him. Bleeding from the head wound, he files a second report. He has identified a Zanu guy who is later brought in.
An ambulance is called. Karanda leans briefly against the wall and sobs. He composes himself and gets in. An MDC supporter goes along.
While Karanda is filing, the Zanu bullies barge in and begin arguing again. I say: “He is bleeding, let him sit.” A big one strides towards me. He says menacingly: “What do you care that he is bleeding? He provoked us. Do you know where he got beaten?”
“In his own country, which is your country,” I say, and edge closer to the counter so I can scramble to the other side if needed. Not one police constable tells this man to shut up or leave me alone.
Suddenly, all the Zanu bullies vanish. They must have received orders.
The Monday-evening newscast at the government-owned ZBC tells a different story: MDC supporters attacked the Zanu offices. The Machipisa commanding officer says, “We have the names of the attackers and will find them.” I didn’t witness the clash. I don’t know who attacked first. I saw what happened at the police station. I fear for Karanda.
Regrettably, there are no human rights monitors left that can help. Zim Rights was emasculated when Nick Ndebele, an informer for Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation, took it over.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace is mute since its fearless director, Mike Auret, was fired last year. No group regularly follows up human rights and police abuse complaints.
04