According to a Monday announcement from his party, an opposition activist in Zimbabwe was kidnapped and later discovered dead while conducting campaigning ahead of by-elections.
The largest opposition party in the nation, the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), has condemned three incidents in as many weeks. It charges the ruling Zanu-PF party of running a massive intimidation operation against its members.
The CCC declared at the end of October and the beginning of November that one of its MPs and a former MP had been abducted in Harare, subjected to torture, and subsequently discovered—in the case of the former, naked and injured—with his head shaved.
The CCC said on Monday that the body of Tapfumanei Masaya, kidnapped in broad daylight by armed men last Saturday in Harare, had been found on the outskirts of the capital.
“We call on the police to investigate this heinous crime and bring the perpetrators to justice”, the party said on X (formerly Twitter).
Although they claimed the identification of the deceased had not yet been determined, the police did disclose that a body had been discovered.
August’s contested elections brought President Emmerson Mnangagwa back to office.
After being called “fraudulent” by the CCC MPs, who were elected, Parliament declared the seats of fifteen of them empty. By-elections to replace them are set for December.
Tapfumanei Masaya was pushed into a car while out on the campaign trail for a CCC candidate in the Mabvuku district of Harare, according to his party.
The CCC posted on social media that the “illegal” and “fraudulent” postponement of our MPs’ elections “led to (his) death”. August’s general elections gave Zanu-PF a majority in parliament and saw President Mnangagwa, then 81, defeat CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, 45.
International observers claim that democratic norms were not met by these elections. Zanu-PF, which has ruled since 1980 when it gained independence, may be able to obtain the two-thirds majority in parliament required to rewrite the Constitution through the upcoming by-elections.
Some observers believe Zanu-PF may use this to extend President Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond 2028. Mr. Mnangagwa was overthrown in a coup in 2017 and came to power.
