The alleged abduction and torture of two Chinhoyi University students has become yet another case study demonstrating the erosion of democracy in Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Marlvin Madanda (23) and Lindon Zanga (21) were allegedly seized by unidentified men while conducting election campaigns on campus and bundled into an unregistered car.
The two, who are members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union, were found a day later allegedly dumped, beaten and injured.
Unfortunately, Madanda and Zanga’s abduction and torture are not an isolated incident.
Elsewhere in this publication we carry an extract of the latest report by the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), which lists similar cases that happened across the country in October.
The ZPP said a Mt Darwin South, Ward 21, a woman was abducted by unknown assailants who had initially been searching for her husband, a known political actor linked to Saviour Kasukuwere’s 2023 presidential campaign.
The victim was allegedly later found dumped in Glendale with severe physical injuries, including signs of torture, indicating deliberate, degrading and inhuman treatment intended to intimidate and punish perceived political dissent.
In Harare, a security guard at Sapes Trust was abducted and briefly detained by unidentified perpetrators who sought to destroy property ahead of a scheduled press conference involving political stakeholders.
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A seminar room at Sapes was bombed by the unknown people.
ZPP said the incidents illustrated a broader climate of political intolerance marked by enforced disappearances, targeted violence, intimidation, and the systematic suppression of dissent and we could not agree more.
What is even more disconcerting is that no one has been arrested for these heinous crimes and many others perpetrated against Zimbabweans exercising their freedoms of speech, assembly and association. On the Sapes Trust incident, which happened over a month ago, police have remained mum and it is not known whether any investigations are being carried out.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police last week issued a statement saying it was investigating the alleged abduction of the Chinhoyi University students and appealed to those that might have information to share it with the authorities.
We expected the government through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education to condemn the heinous crime that happened at an institution of higher learning.
Abductions and torture of government critics has become common during national elections, but the fact that it is now happening at colleges must worry those concerned about the future of Zimbabwe’s democracy. It is a very ominous of the danger that lies ahead for this country.
