At the foot of a mountain lies a plot reportedly owned by
President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Kuwadzana Phase 3. The mountain has come to be
called by the locals as “Gomo raMnangagwa” loosely translated to Mnangagwa’s
mountain.
The mountain will forever invoke nightmares to the hundreds
of local residents who were last week frogmarched up the mountain by the
soldiers during the recent countrywide protests. They were beaten mercilessly
in that mountain before being forced to roll down for a distance of close to
200 metres back to the foot of the mountain.
One of the victims, 35-year-old John (not his real name),
says last week’s events on that mountain resembled a horror movie.
He sat in the corner of a big room at the Counselling
Services Unit in Harare on Friday as he recounted his ordeal to The Standard
crew who had visited the place that was teeming with victims of military and
police brutality. They had come to this makeshift clinic seeking medical
attention after being tortured by the security forces.
His left hand rests on his knee, his chin buried in the
palm and like a dejected child, a story of anguish is printed all over John’s
face.
John’s right hand is severely burnt and blistered. He also
has a deep burn on his right ankle. His buttocks are heavily swollen and he
sits shifting uncomfortably as he tells his story.
John said residents were rounded up by soldiers who were
armed with guns and sjamboks and forced to put out burning tyres using their
bare hands. The burning tyres had earlier been thrown onto the streets as road
barricades by protesters.
“We tried to resist, but they beat us up using motorbike
chains until we submitted,” John said with tears tricking down his cheeks.
“I can’t explain the pain. Imagine burning rubber sticking
on our hands? I no longer have skin on my palm,” he said showing The Standard
his bandaged hand.
“Here on my ankle, they took hotwire from the burning tyres
and tortured me before beating me up with rubber sjamboks. I can’t sit or sleep
on my right side.”
John said he had locked himself up in his house when he
heard soldiers were out assaulting people.
“They came and forced the door open and forced all of us
out with whips. They took us to a barricaded road and ordered us to remove the
barricades after putting out the fire from burning tyres,” he said.
The room at the makeshift clinic where John was had
approximately 38 other people among them juveniles as young as 12 who were also
seeking treatment.
Zimbabweans last Monday took to the streets protesting
against the decision by Mnangagwa to hike fuel prices by about 150%.
The protests were violent in some areas like Chitungwiza,
Epworth, Highfield, Mabvuku and Tafara where hundreds of people blocked roads
to stop kombis from taking people to work. As emerged at the courts where Zanu
PF youth leaders are facing counts of inciting violence, arson and looting, all
Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation took part in the protests.
There were also many reports of some security forces who
tacitly encouraged people to go on the streets while beating up and chasing
away teachers who had turned up for work.
There were also many reports of the military assaulting
protesters during the day and others who conducted night raids dragging people
out of their homes and assaulting them. Most of the victims of army beatings
whom we visited suffered serious injuries.
In Kuwadzana, scores of men and boys spent nights sleeping
in maize fields as soldiers were on the prowl in the area during the night.
Those who failed to flee in time were caught and ordered to lie down before
being kicked and beaten with steel rods.
Next to John, a 53-year-old man was writhing in pain — his
body was lacerated all over. He sat in a wheelchair and had a bandaged head and
his hand was in a sling.
“I live in Kuwadzana Phase 3. We had locked ourselves in
the house when the soldiers came, broke windows and fired teargas into the house.
We ran out and they started beating us up before ordering us to go into the
nearby mountain called Gomo raMnangagwa,” the man recounted.
“We went up and about 200 metres up the mountain we were
met by another group of soldiers who ordered us to go back where we were coming
from.
We did not know what to do with the conflicting orders,
both being barked at us by armed soldiers. We were then ordered to lie down,
they beat us using logs, motorbike chains and whips.”
He added: “After beating us, they ordered us to roll down
the mountain, shoving us down with their booted feet. Back at the foot of the
mountain, they beat us again and ordered us to go back to our houses and
sleep.”
Another victim, Tom (not his real name), who said he had
come from Hopley Farm settlement on Harare South, had a deep wound in his leg
and he said he had dogs set on him by police and soldiers.
“I was coming from the shops to buy sugar. I had a packet
of sugar in my hand when I met a group of soldiers. There were also other
groups of people on the same path and we were all forced to lie down. But
before I could go down, they set the dog on me and I was attacked. I sustained
deep cuts here,” said Tom while showing his scars. He was walking with the aid
of crutches.
“After realising I had been badly injured, they ordered me
to leave. The others were ordered to lie on the ground and they were beaten
thoroughly.”
Another woman we found at the “clinic” said she had been
burnt around her waist using a steel rod.
“They came to me and asked me where my husband was. I told
them he had gone to work and that seemed to anger them. They dragged me out of
the house and forced me to roll in raw sewage before beating me up.
“Before they left, they told me to tell my husband that he
was responsible for her bashing. When I thought it was over, they dragged me to
the road which had been barricaded with huge rocks. They forced me to lift the
rocks off the road and in the meantime one of them pulled a hot metal out of a
fire and burnt me around the waist,” she said, showing The Standard a deep
blister around her waist.
Another woman, a mother of a two-month-old baby also from
Hopley, said she was forced to throw her child onto the bed before she was
dragged outside her house. She left the baby crying and was forced to roll in
sewage before being beaten.
“This whole side, they beat me with an iron rod. I can’t
lift any object and can’t sleep on this right side. They forced me to leave
this very young baby and made me to roll in raw sewage before beating me while
my baby was crying in the house,” she said with tears rolling down her face.
Twelve-year-old Sam (not his real name) sustained a deep
cut above the eye. He said he was beaten by the soldiers when he cried while
they were beating his parents.
“My mother pleaded with them saying I was a mere
school-going child, but they did not listen and went on to beat me up,” Sam
said.
Thirty-seven-year-old Getrude (not her real name) was also
beaten with a hot iron rod plucked from a fire on the road.
“They dragged me from my house and took me to where the
tyres were burning and asked me who had set the fire. I told them I had no idea
and they beat me up and took out from the fire a red-hot iron rod which they
used to beat me,” she said.
Afterwards they ordered her to smear soot into the gaping
wound.
Child victims whom we met at the “clinic” had ages ranging
between 12 and 15. Most of them appeared traumatised by the ordeal and said
they were afraid to go back home. Standard
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