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A platoon on the rampage
By July Khumalo | Staff Reporter
Thursday, May 29, 2008 17:47 | [email protected]
Zimbabwe News: A platoon on the rampage | HARARE TRIBUNE | FRESH ZIMBABWE NEWS DAILY | HARARETRIBUNE.COM
Zimbabwe, Buhera –Commanded by one Col. Morgan Mzilikazi, a battle hardened platoon of soldiers in full battle dress descended on Murambinda Growth Point last Saturday and caused mayhem.
The soldiers indiscriminately fired their AK-47 rifles, loaded with live ammunition, at anything that moved, anything in their sights in an apparent attempt to flush out MDC supporters at the growth point.
When the dust settled in the late afternoon, as the platoon withdrew back to its torture camp by the Save River loaded with looted booty, one person was dead and dozens were nursing gunshot wounds.
Zanu PF supporters chant party slogans at President Robert Mugabe's rally in Shamva, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north east of Harare, Thursday, May 29, 2008. Mugabe has denied that ZANU-PF is behind the violence that has left 50 people dead, all members of the MDC.
As we reported yesterday, Chinotimba has been given a mandate by ZANU-PF to make sure that Manicaland Province as a whole votes 100% for Mugabe in the run-off election on June 27.
Col. Morgan Mzilikazi is one of a number of Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) personnel who are helping Chinotimba complete his mission.
Murambinda Growth Point, in Manicaland Province is a sleepy business centre in the heart of Buhera district.
It is the heart and soul of the district setting the trend be it in dress style or modes of dancing to Sungura.
Generally, the districts all around that include Buhera North, South, Central, have all voted ZANU-PF 100% in past elections. In short, these areas had been the bedrock upon which ZANU-PF’s electoral invincibility had been built on over the years.
On March 29, residents in and around Murambinda turned their backs on ZANU-PF and instead voted for MDC en masse. The recount that followed failed to overturn the original results.
Map data ©2008 Europa Technologies - Terms of Use
Even the gifts, feasts, that one Joseph Chinotimba endowed on the residents of Buhera failed to win him a seat. Chinotimba’s rival, Naison Nemadziva, “cheated” and won the seat without wasting a single cent.
It is being another warm afternoon, with scarcely a cloud in the blue azure African sky, villagers from the surrounding areas, milled about the growth point that Saturday, taking care of their business as usual.
Vendors sold their wares—oranges, stalks of sugar cane, bananas, maputi—to the travelers aboard the long distance buses that passed through the growth point on their way to distant Mutare in the east. .
“I had gone there to have my maize ground by Shumba’s grinding mill,” Ambuya Nekete said as she lay on a bed at Murambinda Gen. Hospital waiting for her thigh gunshot wound to heal. “Then I heard the noise, the guns shooting, it reminded me of the war years…” she added, sobbing softly, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
Acting with complete impunity, Col. Mzilikazi’ platoon—“ZANU-PF activists”—had total disregard for human life. They even let loose a couple of grenades that did extensive damage to three shops at the growth point.
Initially, it appeared Col. Mzilikazi’s platoon wanted to flush out MDC supporters at the growth point, but on reaching the destination, they found out that it was impossible to distinguish who was who. The villagers even refused to cooperate with the army.
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* A platoon on the rampage
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* We are innocent, War-Vets claim
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“Many people resisted taking orders from the soldiers and apparently this set off an ugly scene where they started firing indiscriminately towards a group that was being vocal. One person was shot and died on the spot while several others received bullet wounds,” MDC MP elect for Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya confirmed.
The soldiers started firing and people ran helter skelter, looking for cover. The deceased has been identified as 25 year-old Taurai Matanda who hails from Gutu. The MDC has also been able to identify the killer. Muchauraya named the soldier who fired the fatal shot as Private Svosve Mupindu.
Col. Mzilikazi, who is reported to have vowed to clear off the MDC “scum” in Manicaland Province, has been seen in the company of his commander Chinotimba on a number of occasions.
At the most recent estimate, Chinotimba’s cadres, with full support from the Zimbabwe national army, has killed upwards of thirty people. Many people have vanished without a trace in the province and their whereabouts are unknown. It is standard practice for the “ZANU-PF Activists” to kill and bury their victims in the dead of the night.
The MDC has indicated that it is actively gathering the names of the killers with a view of prosecuting them in the future.
“We have all the names of the leaders and those committing crimes against humanity. What happened in Murambinda was total mayhem. Many more people were brutally attacked as one violent act led to another,” Muchauraya said.
The MP refuted ZANU-PF’s claim that there were no soldiers operating in the rural areas.
“ZANU-PF cannot fool us to say soldiers are not involved in the violence. We have them in the rural areas, dressed in complete army regalia and heavily armed. We have all the evidence, the names, places and the nature of their operations,” Muchauraya added.
Cmdr. Chinotimba has been terrorizing the villagers in Manicaland since the results were confirmed that ZANU-PF had lost the March 29 election. For how long will Cmdr. Chonitimba’s army be allowed to kill, torture, maim, behead and assault villagers?--Harare Tribune
A platoon on the rampage
By July Khumalo | Staff Reporter
Thursday, May 29, 2008 17:47 | [email protected]
Zimbabwe News: A platoon on the rampage | HARARE TRIBUNE | FRESH ZIMBABWE NEWS DAILY | HARARETRIBUNE.COM
Zimbabwe, Buhera –Commanded by one Col. Morgan Mzilikazi, a battle hardened platoon of soldiers in full battle dress descended on Murambinda Growth Point last Saturday and caused mayhem.
The soldiers indiscriminately fired their AK-47 rifles, loaded with live ammunition, at anything that moved, anything in their sights in an apparent attempt to flush out MDC supporters at the growth point.
When the dust settled in the late afternoon, as the platoon withdrew back to its torture camp by the Save River loaded with looted booty, one person was dead and dozens were nursing gunshot wounds.
Zanu PF supporters chant party slogans at President Robert Mugabe's rally in Shamva, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north east of Harare, Thursday, May 29, 2008. Mugabe has denied that ZANU-PF is behind the violence that has left 50 people dead, all members of the MDC.
As we reported yesterday, Chinotimba has been given a mandate by ZANU-PF to make sure that Manicaland Province as a whole votes 100% for Mugabe in the run-off election on June 27.
Col. Morgan Mzilikazi is one of a number of Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) personnel who are helping Chinotimba complete his mission.
Murambinda Growth Point, in Manicaland Province is a sleepy business centre in the heart of Buhera district.
It is the heart and soul of the district setting the trend be it in dress style or modes of dancing to Sungura.
Generally, the districts all around that include Buhera North, South, Central, have all voted ZANU-PF 100% in past elections. In short, these areas had been the bedrock upon which ZANU-PF’s electoral invincibility had been built on over the years.
On March 29, residents in and around Murambinda turned their backs on ZANU-PF and instead voted for MDC en masse. The recount that followed failed to overturn the original results.
Map data ©2008 Europa Technologies - Terms of Use
Even the gifts, feasts, that one Joseph Chinotimba endowed on the residents of Buhera failed to win him a seat. Chinotimba’s rival, Naison Nemadziva, “cheated” and won the seat without wasting a single cent.
It is being another warm afternoon, with scarcely a cloud in the blue azure African sky, villagers from the surrounding areas, milled about the growth point that Saturday, taking care of their business as usual.
Vendors sold their wares—oranges, stalks of sugar cane, bananas, maputi—to the travelers aboard the long distance buses that passed through the growth point on their way to distant Mutare in the east. .
“I had gone there to have my maize ground by Shumba’s grinding mill,” Ambuya Nekete said as she lay on a bed at Murambinda Gen. Hospital waiting for her thigh gunshot wound to heal. “Then I heard the noise, the guns shooting, it reminded me of the war years…” she added, sobbing softly, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
Acting with complete impunity, Col. Mzilikazi’ platoon—“ZANU-PF activists”—had total disregard for human life. They even let loose a couple of grenades that did extensive damage to three shops at the growth point.
Initially, it appeared Col. Mzilikazi’s platoon wanted to flush out MDC supporters at the growth point, but on reaching the destination, they found out that it was impossible to distinguish who was who. The villagers even refused to cooperate with the army.
Don't miss
* I won't back anyone -- Makoni
* We will never leave State House -- Grace Mugabe
* Mugabe is possessed -- Tsvangirai
* A platoon on the rampage
* Don't go to Zimbabwe, US tells its residents
* I refuse to go home
* We are innocent, War-Vets claim
* Mengistu, safe for now
“Many people resisted taking orders from the soldiers and apparently this set off an ugly scene where they started firing indiscriminately towards a group that was being vocal. One person was shot and died on the spot while several others received bullet wounds,” MDC MP elect for Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya confirmed.
The soldiers started firing and people ran helter skelter, looking for cover. The deceased has been identified as 25 year-old Taurai Matanda who hails from Gutu. The MDC has also been able to identify the killer. Muchauraya named the soldier who fired the fatal shot as Private Svosve Mupindu.
Col. Mzilikazi, who is reported to have vowed to clear off the MDC “scum” in Manicaland Province, has been seen in the company of his commander Chinotimba on a number of occasions.
At the most recent estimate, Chinotimba’s cadres, with full support from the Zimbabwe national army, has killed upwards of thirty people. Many people have vanished without a trace in the province and their whereabouts are unknown. It is standard practice for the “ZANU-PF Activists” to kill and bury their victims in the dead of the night.
The MDC has indicated that it is actively gathering the names of the killers with a view of prosecuting them in the future.
“We have all the names of the leaders and those committing crimes against humanity. What happened in Murambinda was total mayhem. Many more people were brutally attacked as one violent act led to another,” Muchauraya said.
The MP refuted ZANU-PF’s claim that there were no soldiers operating in the rural areas.
“ZANU-PF cannot fool us to say soldiers are not involved in the violence. We have them in the rural areas, dressed in complete army regalia and heavily armed. We have all the evidence, the names, places and the nature of their operations,” Muchauraya added.
Cmdr. Chinotimba has been terrorizing the villagers in Manicaland since the results were confirmed that ZANU-PF had lost the March 29 election. For how long will Cmdr. Chonitimba’s army be allowed to kill, torture, maim, behead and assault villagers?--Harare Tribune
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