Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 11:02:05 -0700
To: "Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List":;
From: Zimbabwe Crisis
Subject: ZimCrisis -- Zimbabwe war veterans, government supporters charged with murder
Cc: "Australian government":;, "British government":;,
"Canadian government":
;, "South African government":;,
Commonwealth:;, Press:;
HARARE, May 22 (AFP) - A total of 46 Zimbabwe war veterans and government supporters appeared Monday before a magistrate here charged with kidnapping and murder linked to bloody political violence last week, a state-run news report said.
The violence, in which members of the ruling ZANU-PF party clashed with supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare's southwestern Budiriro suburb, left one person dead and scores injured.
Political violence has escalated ahead of parliamentary elections on June 24 and 25, with at least 25 people, most of them MDC supporters, being killed.
The state-run Ziana news agency said the Budiriro accused appeared in court in seven different groups and were not asked to plead by Magistrate Jefta Makhaza.
The state claims the group kidnapped individuals in the suburb it suspected were MDC supporters last Wednesday and interrogated them about the party.
It alleges further that 12 members of the group, who are now facing murder charges, tortured one man, Takundwa Chipunza, for being an MDC supporter. He died later in hospital.
The 12 were remanded in custody to June 5.
Their lawyer demanded bail because, he claimed, some of them were injured in the clashes with the MDC supporters and were not receiving medical attention in prison.
"They were not given soap to bath and it is not good because some have wounds which were caused by MDC supporters," said the lawyer, Pisirayi Kwenda.
A number of war veterans had head wounds and some still had blood-stained clothes when they appeared in court, the report said.
The other 34 accused who are not facing the murder charge were remanded in custody until Wednesday.
Three MDC supporters appeared separately in the same court to answer charges of damaging three houses belonging to Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) supporters in Budiriro.
The three were remanded in custody until Wednesday.
Craig
Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List
This is currently a manually administered mailing list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send your request to DELETED. Personal requests for removal will be carried out immediately. Requests from governmental, political or press organisations will be treated less favourably. The purpose of this list is not necessarily to redistribute published news reports. Rather, it is intended to distribute reports from or directly affecting those people in Zimbabwe. If you have seen something before, I apologise. Hopefully that will not be a regular occurrence.
Brief list of helpful sites on the issue:
- Comprehensive news updates -- http://www.1freespace.com/beetee
- Offers of and requests for help for Zimbabweans -- http://pub9.ezboard.com/boffersofhelp
- Commercial Farmers' Union -- http://www.mweb.co.zw/cfu
- Movement for Democratic Change -- http://www.in2zw.com/mdc
- Zimbabwe Democracy Trust -- http://www.zimbabwedemocracytrust.org
- BSAP Pursuit of Zimbabwean Criminals -- http://www.bsaphq.f9.co.uk
To: "Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List":;
From: Zimbabwe Crisis
Subject: ZimCrisis -- Zimbabwe war veterans, government supporters charged with murder
Cc: "Australian government":;, "British government":;,
"Canadian government":
;, "South African government":;,
Commonwealth:;, Press:;
HARARE, May 22 (AFP) - A total of 46 Zimbabwe war veterans and government supporters appeared Monday before a magistrate here charged with kidnapping and murder linked to bloody political violence last week, a state-run news report said.
The violence, in which members of the ruling ZANU-PF party clashed with supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare's southwestern Budiriro suburb, left one person dead and scores injured.
Political violence has escalated ahead of parliamentary elections on June 24 and 25, with at least 25 people, most of them MDC supporters, being killed.
The state-run Ziana news agency said the Budiriro accused appeared in court in seven different groups and were not asked to plead by Magistrate Jefta Makhaza.
The state claims the group kidnapped individuals in the suburb it suspected were MDC supporters last Wednesday and interrogated them about the party.
It alleges further that 12 members of the group, who are now facing murder charges, tortured one man, Takundwa Chipunza, for being an MDC supporter. He died later in hospital.
The 12 were remanded in custody to June 5.
Their lawyer demanded bail because, he claimed, some of them were injured in the clashes with the MDC supporters and were not receiving medical attention in prison.
"They were not given soap to bath and it is not good because some have wounds which were caused by MDC supporters," said the lawyer, Pisirayi Kwenda.
A number of war veterans had head wounds and some still had blood-stained clothes when they appeared in court, the report said.
The other 34 accused who are not facing the murder charge were remanded in custody until Wednesday.
Three MDC supporters appeared separately in the same court to answer charges of damaging three houses belonging to Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) supporters in Budiriro.
The three were remanded in custody until Wednesday.
Craig
Zimbabwe Crisis Mailing List
This is currently a manually administered mailing list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send your request to DELETED. Personal requests for removal will be carried out immediately. Requests from governmental, political or press organisations will be treated less favourably. The purpose of this list is not necessarily to redistribute published news reports. Rather, it is intended to distribute reports from or directly affecting those people in Zimbabwe. If you have seen something before, I apologise. Hopefully that will not be a regular occurrence.
Brief list of helpful sites on the issue:
- Comprehensive news updates -- http://www.1freespace.com/beetee
- Offers of and requests for help for Zimbabweans -- http://pub9.ezboard.com/boffersofhelp
- Commercial Farmers' Union -- http://www.mweb.co.zw/cfu
- Movement for Democratic Change -- http://www.in2zw.com/mdc
- Zimbabwe Democracy Trust -- http://www.zimbabwedemocracytrust.org
- BSAP Pursuit of Zimbabwean Criminals -- http://www.bsaphq.f9.co.uk
