A Zimbabwean opposition MP was abducted on Wednesday November 1st morning, tortured and then left naked along a roadside, his party said, amid sustained tensions since disputed elections in the southern African country in August 2023.
Takudzwa Ngadziore, 25, was abducted by gunmen near his home in the capital Harare, on his way to Parliament, according to the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
Mr. Ngadziore, Zimbabwe’s youngest member of parliament, managed to broadcast live on social networks the moments leading up to his alleged kidnapping. In the short clip, the distressed politician, wearing a tie, is seen looking at the camera saying “I’m being followed” in the local Shona language, before showing a man armed with a Kalashnikov and wearing a black cap running towards him.
He was found several hours later, his body covered in gashes, some forty kilometers from the village of Mazowe, according to the friend who went to pick him up.
The CCC, the largest opposition party, pointed the finger at the ruling ZANU-PF party, claiming that the abduction was part of a widespread campaign of intimidation against its supporters. The police and ZANU-PF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The continued targeting of prominent members (of the CCC) is aimed at instilling fear among the general population,” accused party spokesman Promise Mkwananzi on X. “This is yet another example of the arbitrary lawlessness that has gripped Zimbabwe since the advent of the rigged election.”
Mr. Ngadziore was hospitalized, probably suffering from a fractured hand and knee, said his friend, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Local media and human rights groups have suggested that his abductors may belong to the Zimbabwean security forces. This is the second recent incident of this type: last week, James Chidhakwa, a former CCC MP, was kidnapped and tortured before being found a few hours later in a Harare suburb, his head shaved.