Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa says he is not
bothered one bit by social media onslaughts.
He also accuses civic society and the opposition of staging
abductions to paint a bad picture of his government.
Speaking during a virtual presentation on Covid-19 on
Thursday, Mnangagwa said: “The arbitrary arrests, death, torture in the
country, all that is being stated without evidence.”
In a discussion panel on Friday, titled “Unpacking Enforced
Disappearances in Zimbabwe”, human rights lawyer Kennedy Masiye said there was
serious mistrust in government arms hence people fear reporting abuses.
“In January 2019 [when there were fuel riots], women were
raped and the government said people should report. We all know what happens
when people report. They end up being charged for faking abductions,” he said.
Mnangagwa’s claim of staged abductions was met with a video
exposé of the daylight drama-filled abduction of activist Tawanda Mucheiwa in
Bulawayo. Leading Zimbabwean online newspaper ZimLive published a 16-minute
video showing how the 22-year-old Mucheiwa was bundled into a twin cab Isuzu
truck with five cars in a convoy. He was later transferred to a Ford Ranger.
Mucheiwa said he had “made peace with death”, while his
abductors took turns to torture him for three days. He added: “I suffered
horrific abuse at the hands of five agents over three days.”
Mucheiwa was suspected of being a ring leader in an alleged
plot to burn bridges in Bulawayo on July 31 during protests.
At least 12 opposition activists were rounded up by the
police, while Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, MDC Alliance
legislator Job Sikhala and journalist Hopewell Chin’ono are in a remand prison.
Arguing against Ngarivhume’s bail on Friday, state
prosecutor Michael Reza said: “If Jacob Ngarivhume is freed on bail and finds
out that President Mnangagwa is still the president of this country, there will
be hell.”
Justice Siyabona Paul Musithu reserved judgment on
Ngarivhume’s bail application until September 2.
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