OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Saturday
ZIMBABWEAN police have arrested 97 members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the south of the country following pre-election clashes which the MDC has described as state-sponsored violence.
Party leader Morgan Tsvangirai confirmed the arrests, and said the MDC had sent reinforcements to beef up the 50-strong team of campaigners it had earlier sent to the rural area of Bikita to help “defend” its members there.
Political tension in the Bikita-West constituency, in southeastern Zimbabwe, has shot up since the stabbing death of an alleged ZANU-PF supporter in the run-up to parliamentary by-elections due on January 13 and 14.
“We will have more campaign teams to ensure the security of our people,” Tsvangirai told a news conference.
He said his party was a peaceful one and was not on the offensive, “but we recognise that people cannot be expected to sit back forever and watch themselves being brutalised.”
He described the unrest in the area as “state-sponsored violence.”
While commending the police in Bikita for their protection at two MDC campaign rallies held this week, Tsvangirai criticised them for their sudden turn-around when they arrested the 97 MDC youths.
He said police had also searched the home of MDC election candidate Boniface Pakai for the weapon used to murder Bernard Gara, believed to have been a supporter of the ruling Zanu-PF. Gara was allegedly killed by MDC supporters.
More than 43 cases of political violence have been reported in Bikita-West, 350km south of the capital Harare, since mid-December, when campaigning for the seat left vacant by an MDC lawmaker gained momentum.
The district’s former MDC parliamentarian, who narrowly beat a ZANU-PF candidate, died of illness. – AFP
05