Zimbabwean opposition claims president’s supporters stoned one of their members to death

Zimbabwe’s principal opposition social gathering stated that one in every of its supporters was overwhelmed and stoned to dying whereas on his technique to a political rally on Thursday, allegedly by activists from the ruling social gathering, three weeks forward of the country’s general elections.

The social gathering supplied no proof to assist its declare. Police stated in a press release that “an incident of public violence” had left one particular person lifeless “on account of the clashes” however didn’t seek advice from the sufferer’s political affiliation.

The southern African nation of 15 million individuals has a historical past of violent and disputed elections because it gained independence from white minority rule in 1980 following a bloody guerilla struggle. It is going to maintain normal elections on Aug. 23 to selected a president, the parliament and native authorities councilors.

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Forward of the vote, there have been accusations that the administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is utilizing violence and intimidation to crack down on its political rivals.

Fadzayi Mahere, spokeswoman for the opposition Residents Coalition for Change, stated Tinashe Chitsunge was among the many social gathering’s supporters heading for a rally in a politically unstable township within the capital, Harare, on Thursday once they have been “ambushed” by activists from the ruling ZANU-PF social gathering who “assaulted and stoned” them.

A poster selling Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is seen at social gathering headquarters, Harare, Zimbabwe, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP Picture/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, file)

Pictures on social media confirmed the physique of a person sporting the yellow colours of the opposition social gathering mendacity on the bottom in a pool of blood and apparently lifeless.

Different movies posted on social media purported to point out ruling social gathering supporters hurling rocks and stones at a truck carrying CCC followers to the rally within the Glen View township.

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The knowledge ministry referred to as for calm and for individuals to heed the president’s “message of peaceable campaigns, free contestation of concepts and political tolerance.”

Earlier on Thursday, a report by Human Rights Watch titled “Crush Them Like Lice” alleged that there was “violence, intimidation, harassment, and repression” linked to Mnangagwa’s social gathering and aimed principally at CCC members and civil society activists.

“ZANU-PF supporters have engaged in widespread harassment, threats, and acts of violence, stopping opposition events from staging rallies, mobilizing, campaigning, and associating with supporters throughout the nation,” the New York-based watchdog stated.

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Mnangagwa took energy after a coup in 2017 and received a disputed election in 2018. He and his officers have repeatedly denied allegations that they’ve overseen a marketing campaign of violence and intimidation forward of this month’s election, with the president typically publicly telling his supporters to conduct peaceable campaigns.