As the Southern African Development Community (SADC) prepares for an important meeting this Saturday in Luanda, Angola, a new wave of human rights issues has hit Zimbabwe. This week, two shocking kidnappings happened. People who do not agree with the government were hurt and treated very badly by the people who should protect them.
The leader of the CCC Youth Taskforce, Takudzwa Ngadziore, was taken by force in Harare, the capital city. He was badly beaten and left in a place called Christon Bank, Mazowe, about 40km north of Harare. In a similar terrible event, James Chidhakwa, who used to work in the government for Mabvuku-Tafara, was grabbed, hit, and left in Arcturus, 30km east of the capital.
These scary events were seen by many. A video shows a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officer named Nicholas “Big Daddy” Kajese chasing Ngadziore. Kajese, who works at Harare Central Police Station, was helped by another officer, Abraham “Mudhara” Pasi. Both are part of the Ferret Team, a group known for being very harsh. They work under Ishmael Mada, the boss of local spy operations. These actions show that some people in power knew about and maybe planned these kidnappings.
Violence and unfair treatment have been problems in Zimbabwe for a long time. People are often taken away, hurt, or even killed. These actions create a very dangerous and unstable situation in the country.
One of the main leaders of the CCC, Job Sikhala, has been in jail for over 500 days. His only ‘crime’ was speaking out loudly against the killing of another activist, Moreblesssing Ali, last year. He is accused of causing trouble, but he says this is not true. His long time in jail shows how serious the human rights problems are in Zimbabwe.
The situation is made worse by recent elections, which many people think were not fair. With the SADC meeting coming up, there are big worries about democracy and human rights in the area. The world and SADC now have to work hard to try to make things better, to bring peace, justice, and real democracy to a country that really needs it.