Harare, Aug 26 (AFP/APP): Zimbabwe’s main opposition group claimed Friday that its supporters have come under systematic attacks ahead of next year’s national vote, as rights groups warn of a worsening crackdown on opponents.
Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), said political gatherings in four rural areas had to be called off this week after attackers beat up would-be attendees and damaged their vehicles.
“There is unprecedented violence — terror has become a daily dose,” he told a press conference in the capital Harare.
“People in those communities are not allowed to freely associate.”
A police spokesman said they were “yet to receive any reports” of the alleged violence.
The CCC is an offshoot of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance party, which lost by a tight margin against the long-ruling ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe’s 2018 general elections.
ZANU-PF representatives could not immediately be reached by phone to comment on Chamisa’s allegations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement claiming four journalists were also victims of a “brutal assault” after filming a convoy of ZANU-PF vehicles on Thursday that were reported to be blockading the CCC rally in the central town of Gokwe.
“Zimbabwean authorities must investigate and hold those responsible to account,” CPJ’s Africa coordinator Angela Quintal said in a statement.
They must “ensure that the press can report freely without fear of attack, especially with the country set to hold national elections next year”, she said.
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