ZANU-PF youths arrested over Saturday violence in Chitungwiza

Charles Mabhena

Chitungwiza police has finally made arrests of ZANU-PF youths who beat up opposition and members of the public having a clean-up campaign in Chitungiza, Makoni shops last Saturday.

The apprehended are Lazarus, Blessing and Anway and are expected to appear at Chitungwiza Courts on 15 February.

Four people were severely beaten and later hospitalized when the youths pounced on the cleaners attacking them with rakes, shovels and brooms. They accused the cleaners of de-campaign the ZANU-PF government through their clean-up campaign.

The opposition Transform Zimbabwe party has launched a nationwide cleaning campaign to wade-off conditions that cause the typhoid disease that is threatening lives of thousands of residents in and around the capital city, Harare.

In its latest regional survey, Community Tolerance Reconciliation and Development  Trust (COTRAD) says over 400 cases of political human rights violations were recorded in the last quarter of last year in Masvingo, mainly due to the Bikita By-election campaigns.

The by-election was eventually won by the ruling party.

The survey revealed that the political human rights violations increased due to the worsening social, political and economic in Zimbabwe.

Political motivated human rights range from unlawful arrest by the police and CIO to disruptions of opposition party meetings and rallies as well as beatings and abductions.

About 1 000 survey respondents accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of purportedly using security forces, traditional leaders and party youths for violating human rights through unlawful arrests, violence and partisan food distribution.

Masvingo recorded the highest figures (61 percent) of politically motivated violence, the local rights group claimed.