Zimbabwean police are searching for nine senior officials of the opposition MDC Alliance for allegedly inciting their supporters to stage an illegal demonstration last Wednesday, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports.
The search for the nine is the latest fallout from last Monday’s disputed election, with the MDC Alliance and campaign groups accusing the security forces of launching a crackdown to quell protests.
The MDC Alliance has rejected President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory in the poll as a sham. The electoral commission says there was “absolutely no skulduggery”.
Six people died after the security forces and opposition supporters clashed in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday.
Among the MDC Alliance officials police are searching for are Tendai Biti, Morgan Komichi and Happymore Chidziva, the Herald reports.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the security forces and unidentified gunmen have carried out a series of night-time raids at the home of opposition supporters.
Masked men stormed the home of Mr Chidziva, the MDC Alliance youth leader, at 02:00 (00:00GMT) on Sunday, it added.
“A woman in the house told Human Rights Watch that when she screamed for help, one of the men pointed a rifle at her head and told her to be quiet or risk death. One of the men slapped and kicked her.
“The attackers also beat up members of three other families in the house, then abducted two of the men. The masked men put the abducted men in a white double-cab truck and drove them to a secluded place along Masvingo road, then beat and kicked them for an hour before releasing them,” the group said in a statement.
