Zanu PF has bussed about 2 000 of its supporters into Harare to assist in putting down anti-government protests organised by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), ruling party officials said yesterday. The ruling party supporters, brought into the capital city over the weekend, were brought in from rural areas close to Harare. They were yesterday camped at the Zanu PF headquarters and have, together with recruits from the controversial national youth service training programme, been assisting State security agents to deal with street demonstrations organised by the MDC. Several Harare residents and Daily News vendors yesterday complained of severe beatings and harassment by some of the rural Zanu PF supporters. They are said to have seized and destroying copies of The Daily News, accused of supporting the MDC mass action.
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Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity, Nathan Shamuyarira, said the youths had been employed to ensure peace during the mass action, which ends on Friday.
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âWe brought them to protect the partyâs property from being destroyed by the MDC and to protect the people. We knew that the people would be attacked by MDC thugs, who were given money by the British to harass innocent Zimbabweans,â Shamuyarira said yesterday. The MDC denies that its supporters are planning to cause violence during the mass action. A Harare resident, Tapiwa Nechipote, said he lost two teeth when he was beaten up by ruling party supporters this week. âThey asked me why I was reading opposition newspapers and before I could answer, they were all over me. They were so shabbily dressed that I wondered where they could have come from.â |