‘Terror campaign in Zimbabwe’

Dusk had fallen on the second day of violent anti-government protests in Harare when the company commander gathered his men and relayed orders for the night’s operation.

The task, a long-serving NCO said, was straightforward – go into the poor suburbs of Zimbabwe’s capital, locate opposition activists, and “punish them”.

“Our lieutenant told us to go in and find them,” the soldier said last week.

“We got our information of where the Movement for Democratic Change activists live from members of our party, Zanu-PF.”

According to his own account, the soldier took part in systematically breaking legs and committed at least one rape in a door-to-door operation on the night of January 15.

At least 12 people have been killed and more than 300 wounded, many of them by gunshots, since violent protests broke out across the country on January 14.

Zimbabwe’s government has denied authorising soldiers to commit abuses in its efforts to restore order.

But the country’s independent human rights commission has accused security forces of systematic torture in the subsequent crackdown

“We have received very disturbing reports of a number of cases of women allegedly raped by members of security forces,” Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, said on Friday.

“Beatings, harassment and other abuses have continued after [President Emmerson] Mnangagwa’s return [from overseas] and there are no clear actions from the government to hold accountable those committing the abuses.”

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba said she had not received any reports of rape.

The soldier said he had no regrets and freely admitted to committing a rape.

“It was night. We were looking for someone in the MDC. We had an address, this lady was sleeping with a light on.

“I asked is her husband there, and she said she doesn’t have one. I was done in a minute,” he said.

He also said his unit, who wore civilian overalls and no insignia in the operation, broke “many bones” of MDC supporters by pinioning them to the open back panel of an army pickup truck and then smashing it closed on their legs.

“We are going to deal with people calling for demonstrations. They will hide under doors, under beds.

“The schoolchildren who joined the demonstrations, most of them are MDC, and most of them are taught by their parents to do this.

“And so we have to beat them. We stopped them. Don’t believe we didn’t stop them. We did. We will do this again.”

There is no suggestion he was ordered to commit rape.

A soldier in a different regiment said he had been sent on a similar punitive expedition in poor townships last week.

Trade unions and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change called protests and a strike after Mnangagwa announced a hike in petrol prices on January 12.

Hundreds of people were arrested in the crackdown on protests, which the government says was a justified response to violence and looting.

Evan Mawarire, who led a shutdown in 2016 against Robert Mugabe, has been accused of inciting the unrest.

Prosecutors argued against bail for him, saying he posed a flight risk and could re-offend if released.

Judge Tawanda Chitapi said he would rule on Tuesday but hinted he could ban Mawarire from posting videos similar to the one the state says encouraged unrest until the trial is over.

Mnangagwa’s office did not respond to requests for comment.