On 17 August 2018, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (Forum) visited families of MDC Alliance supporters in Chitungwiza who have fled their homes after receiving threats of abduction and assault from unknown men. The targeted victims are 6 MDC Alliance agents who were deployed during the 30 July 2018 harmonised elections. 2 of the targeted victims were abducted and tortured and later released accused of organising and coordinating the 1 August MDC Alliance demonstration against ZEC. The other 4 victims have since deserted their homes in fear of suffering the same fate as their colleagues.
It has been verified that the unidentified men have searched homes of MDC Alliance supporters without search warrants. The family of the victims indicated that from 2 August 2018, unknown armed men come on a daily basis looking for the victims without showing any identification or any indication of what they want from the victims, rather they have threatened to assault the family of the victim if they do not tell them the whereabouts of the victim.
The Forum has documented over 200 cases of post-election violence since 1 August 2018. 16 cases of abductions and 28 cases of displacement have been documented related to state security and elections. See the full report here.
