Hell in Zimbabwe

25^th August 2002

Ben Chipwanyira is frightened. He is recovering from a broken arm and vicious wounds on his back, legs and feet that he says come from repeated beatings and torture by Zimbabwe's police.

He is afraid that police will arrest him again or inflict beatings on his wife and children, but is eager to tell his story. 'I want the world to know we are living in Hell in Zimbabwe. Anyone who supports the opposition has no safety or protection,' says the determined Chipwanyira. 'Maybe if people know what we are going through then the international community will put pressure on Mugabe to stop this.'

His harrowing story highlights the persistence of reports of state-sponsored violence and torture in Zimbabwe.

Chipwanyira, 34, is from the Buhera district of southeastern Zimbabwe. 'I am a peasant farmer and the deputy constituency secretary for the MDC [the Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe's opposition party].

'On 14 July four riot police and two members of the CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation] came to my house. They fired guns at me. I was very much afraid and I fell down. They beat me with their fists and baton sticks. My arm broke and I fainted. I only woke up at the police station.

'The police told me that I was selling Zimbabwe to the British and that I did not fight to liberate Zimbabwe. They told me to go to Britain. They asked me what we discussed at MDC meetings, especially when the party's president, Morgan Tsvangirai, was present. I did not want to disclose anything,' said Chipwanyira. 'For three days the police kept beating me. They held me down and beat my feet until they were swollen like big balls. They beat my back and my legs. They smashed my fingernails. This was at the police station. I know the names of some of the police constables who did this.'

Then the police told Chipwanyira that he and nine other MDC supporters would be charged with attempted murder for allegedly burning down the home of a government education officer.

'That man told police that two different people burned down his home, but they arrested more than 10 MDC supporters anyway. That shows us it was all politically motivated,' says Chipwanyira. 'The police denied medical treatment, even though my arm was broken and I was urinating blood and I had bad wounds all over my body.'

In early August, the 10 men were formally charged and released on bail but barred from returning to Buhera. 'Zanu-PF [Zimbabwe's ruling party] is doing this because they fear defeat in the Buhera council elections in September. They don't want any MDC officials to be able to campaign. But even though we are not in Buhera, we are not safe. We are in hiding.'

Chipwanyira has been separated from his wife and four children, aged 14, nine, five and 18 months. 'I haven't seen my family for six weeks. I am so worried about them that I have trouble sleeping. Are they safe? There is no food so how can they sustain themselves? Other peoples' homes have been burned. Where is my family? This is Hell for me right now.'

He is staying in a safe house with many other victims of Zimbabwe's political violence. 'People from the MDC are here and other people who were not even in politics. Look at the plight of the workers on commercial farms. Thousands are being evicted and they have no jobs, no homes, no blankets. They are now desperate because of one man,' he said. 'The government must stop this brutality on its citizens.'

Chipwanyira's story is not unique. Several others staying at the safe house crowded round to recount similarly grim experiences.

Zimbabwe's police say they do not assault or torture those under arrest. 'We will investigate all reports of assaults,' said police spokesman Andrew Phiri. 'Reports of assaults should be filed at any police station; it does not have to be at the station where the assault allegedly occurred.'

However, Zimbabwean human rights groups charge that there has been an alarming rise in reports of torture by police.

'We are seeing a definite increase in the number of reports of violence at the hands of police,' says Tony Reeler, director of Amani Trust. 'In addition, many people report being held much longer than the legal period of detention. It looks like a sustained campaign by police to harass MDC supporters, particularly in the Buhera area where there are upcoming local council elections. We have reports from more than 100 people arrested in Buhera and a high proportion show signs of torture at the hands of police.'

Reeler charges that many people have been badly beaten on the soles of their feet. 'This torture technique is called "falanga" and in the past two years it has spread across Zimbabwe. It is compelling evidence that torture methods are being taught across the country.'

Amani Trust provides assistance to victims of political violence and is one of a coalition of groups that are documenting ongoing violence in Zimbabwe.

'The use of torture has reached epidemic proportions in Zimbabwe,' says Reeler. 'Our data suggests between 400,000 and 600,000 people have experienced some form of torture in the past two years. This is a terrible wound on the national psyche that will take years to heal.

'First, the torture must stop. Clearly this cannot happen without the political will of the government and the insistence on a wholly non-partisan role by the police. Then it will take a concerted effort of treatment and counseling and some national inquiry, such as a truth commission, to help Zimbabwe break out of this cycle of violence.'

Reeler said Zimbabwe must see a restoration of an even-handed rule of law and an end to the situation in which government supporters and officials can inflict violence upon critics with impunity.

'As South Africa's Justice Richard Goldstone has stated, "Peace does not create justice. Justice creates peace".'

Andrew Meldrum - The Observer UK