MDC-T polling agents evicted from Mbare | SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A group of 38 MDC-T supporters, who served as polling agents in last week’s disputed election, were forced to leave their homes in Mbare high-density suburb over the weekend, by thugs from a notorious ZANU PF gang that has terrorized the area for years. Just after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced Saturday that Robert Mugabe’s party had won a two thirds majority vote, members of the Chipangano gang are alleged to have gone door-to-door targeting MDC-T supporters in Mbare. Eric Knight, who contested the Mbare seat under the MDC-T, told SW Radio Africa that the hostels are owned by Harare City Council and ZANU PF thugs had no legal right to conduct the evictions. Describing the incident, Knight said: “They were identifying those MDC-T activists who served as polling agents and evicting them from their homes at midnight. We had to engage some friends of ours to help them because they were homeless.” He added: “The majority of accommodation in Mbare is run by Harare City Council and by right these people own these houses. They don’t belong to ZANU-PF. We are trying to use official channels to identify the culprits.” According to Knight, a well-known radio presenter in Zimbabwe, the police were notified but nothing has been done. Chipangano continues to terrorize Mbare residents and their influence is reported to have spread to other constituencies. Knight said: “The mood is very tense and it’s not just Harare but around the country. It is very intense here in Zimbabwe right now. People are worried.” According to the Mail & Guardian newspaper, several hundred supporters of Robert Mugabe paraded “a white coffin draped in an MDC flag, with a red knotted scarf placed on top with the inscription “RIP Morgan”, through the streets of Mbare.