On Saturday, riot police attacked the home of a Zimbabwean opposition lawmaker outside of Harare and detained him along with 24 other people who were holding a party meeting, according to the party and the government.
Police battered Costa Machingauta, his wife, and their 17-year-old daughter at their home in the Budiriro area of Harare before removing them, according to representatives of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
The assembly was illegal, according to the police, and those detained would face charges of upsetting the peace.
“We confirm the arrest of the CCC activists. They were attending an unauthorized meeting,” police spokesman Paul Nyathi told AFP. He did not want to comment on the accusations of beating the MP and his family, but assured that more details on the operation would be provided on Sunday.
Recently, rights groups and opposition parties have criticised stepped-up repression in the run-up to this year’s general elections.
The ZANU-PF party, which is in power, was charged with employing the police against political opponents by CCC spokesman Fadzayi Mahere.
According to Mahere, a lot of police officers surrounded Machingauta’s home on Saturday before forcibly ending the meeting. He also mentioned that Amos Chibaya, another prominent CCC lawmaker, was detained.
“Armed police officers beat up Machingauta’s wife and daughter and set up a roadblock on the road to his home… We want elections, not war,” she said.
We want elections, not war,” she said. She said the rules governing public order do not apply to such a private meeting.
As President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Robert Mugabe in 2017 in a military-backed coup, works to combat poverty, rein in inflation, and put an end to frequent power outages, unhappiness is growing in Zimbabwe.
