Harare | Tuesday
A ZIMBABWE pro-government militia decapitated a 53-year-old woman at the weekend, forcing her two daughters to watch her die in their family kitchen, Zimbabwe’s opposition said this week.
Brandina Tadyanemhandu was killed on Sunday, after the militia descended on her home demanding to see her 62-year-old husband, Enos Tadyanemhandu, who was away, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in a statement.
Before killing her, the militia said they had been ordered “to weed out all MDC supporters from the constituency” of Hurungwe East, the statement said.
A total of 20 militia members were in the house when they chopped off Tadyanemhandu’s head in front of her 17-year-old and 10-year-old daughters, the MDC said.
The militia burned down the family’s home and destroyed all their property before leaving, the statement said.
Tadyanemhandu’s son Tichaona was killed on June 20, 2001, apparently for his participation in opposition politics, the statement said.
Her death brings to 55 the number of people killed in political violence in Zimbabwe this year.
“The MDC deplores these continued inhuman acts by a political party whose leader purports to be promoting peace while maintaining the institutions of violence that have been created to safeguard his interests,” the statement said.
“It is disheartening to note that Zanu-PF’s structures of violence remain intact and we question Zanu-PF’s sincerity in its calls for peace and its participation in the inter-party dialogue,” it said.
The MDC has rejected President Robert Mugabe’s re-election last month in polls marred by violence and voting irregularities.
MDC and Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF held talks on the political crisis on April 8-10, and are expected to resume talks on May 13. – AFP