CCC protestor kidnapped and murdered
CCC protestor kidnapped and murdered
An activist for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who vanished over the weekend in Mabvuku, Harare, after being kidnapped by alleged State security operatives, has been discovered dead.
While supporting Munyaradzi Febion Kufahakutizwi, who is running for reelection on December 9 after being recalled along with 14 other candidates by self-declared CCC interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu shortly after the harmonised elections on August 23 and 24, Bishop Tapfumaneyi Masaya is allegedly kidnapped.
“Our change champion, Bishop Tapfumaneyi Masaya, who was abducted in Mabvuku while campaigning, hasbeen found dead,” wrote party deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba on X last night.
To make room for Zanu PF, they called back Hon. Kufa, a duly elected Mabvuku MP. This has taken an innocent life today. He will receive justice.Masaya’s body is thought to have been thrown in the Cleveland region around the intersection of Arcturus and Lobho roads.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday confirmed that an unidentified body had been found in the Cleveland area, but could not confirm if it was Masaya’s.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police is conducting investigations in connection with the location of a body at the intersection of Arcturus and Lobho Road, Cleveland area, Harare on November 12, 2023,” he said.
“The identity of the victim is yet to be established.”
In a telephone interview last night, Nyathi said police details were on the ground to ascertain the identity of the body and would release more details today.
Opposition activists have historically been kidnapped and tortured in Zimbabwe, with catastrophic results in some cases.
Takudzwa Ngadziore, a legislator for the CCC, captured a brief footage two weeks ago of individuals armed with guns advancing on him. He was then kidnapped, tortured, and given an injection of an unidentified chemical before being dumped in Mazowe.
Former Mabvuku-Tafara MP James Chidhakwa was kidnapped, beaten, given an unknown injection, and had his dreadlocks shaved off before being thrown into Arcturus last month. Itai Dzamara, a human rights advocate and journalist, was kidnapped in 2015 from a barbershop near his Glen View home in Harare. He hasn’t been heard from since.
Human rights advocate Jestina Mukoko recently revealed that the State was involved in the kidnappings when she disclosed that Vice President Kembo Mohadi, who was Home Affairs minister at the time, was aware of her 2008 abduction from her Norton home and kept incommunicado for about a month.
Lawmaker Joanah Mamombe, together with party volunteers Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, were kidnapped in June 2020 and discovered in the Bindura area about 48 hours later. They needed hospital treatment for their wounds. Rather of taking the concerns seriously, the government frequently claims that the activists staged the kidnappings.
