Posted on 09/10/2001 3:01:24 PM PDT by Clive
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's lawless militias went on the rampage in the western city of Bulawayo on Monday after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change headed for a clean sweep in municipal elections, said independent sources.
"War veterans went into the streets and were sjamboking (whipping) pedestrians going past the party headquarters," said Shari Eppel, the local director of Amani Trust, which monitors incidents of violence.
"People were running away and the area was sealed off by riot police," she said, quoting witnesses at the scene in Makokoba township adjacent to the city. "Police were beating people. There were visible riots going on."
There were no immediate reports of injuries, but officials were checking in the local hospitals, she said.
Calm appeared to have been restored by about 4 pm, she said.
The violence came immediately after electoral officials announced that the MDC candidates had won all seven councillor's seats being contested at the weekend.
The outcome in the contest for the mayoral seat was not yet known, but MDC MP David Coltart said it was "a foregone conclusion" that MDC candidate Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube would win.
The violence broke out as five Southern African heads of state met in Harare in a bid to resolve the violence and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe that neighbouring states say is driving away investment and tourism and slashing the value of their currencies.
President Robert Mugabe's party is mounting a comprehensive propaganda operation to attempt to convince the leaders of South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and Malawi that the government is upholding the rule of law and that reports of lawlessness are exaggerated.
The incidents also followed Zimbabwe's agreement last week to a deal drafted by Commonwealth foreign ministers which demands that the regime end the violence and carry out a legal programme of land reforms.
The MDC secured its victories despite a full-scale drive by Zanu(PF) to break the opposition party's support with a campaign of handouts of millions of Zimbabwe dollars to poor township dwellers, the deployment of thousands of violent youths into the city and arrests by police of MDC officials and their staff. Late on Sunday night, alleged ruling party supporters opened fire on MDC vice-president Gibson Sibanda and two other senior officials outside the MDC offices in Bulawayo.
No one was hurt.
Police responded 90 minutes later and arrested four members of the MDC, said MDC MP David Coltart. His three bodyguards, who were arrested on Saturday after filming the de-busing of nearly 2 000 Zanu(PF) youths in the centre, were still in custody on Monday "while police try and make up a charge against them," he said.
The state press reported on Monday that police had confiscated 17 firearms after raiding the homes of the three men, and claimed they were unlicensed.
However, at a press conference on Monday, the MDC produced the licences of all the weapons. "These men are all hunting and target-shooting enthusiasts," said Coltart. "This is a case of a heavily compromised law enforcement agency trying to create a smokescreen."
Mayoral candidate Ndabeni-Ncube also appeared in court on Monday on charges of breaching electoral laws. "The fact is he saw his elderly uncle in a voting queue, and gave him $Z20 (about R3,24) to buy a Coke.
So they hauled him off to court on Monday morning on charges of bribing his uncle," said Coltart. - Sapa-DPA
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.