David Mpala, the Movement for Democratic Change MP for Lupane, was fighting for his life on Monday after Zanu PF supporters slit his abdomen with knives, a few hours after abducting him on Sunday afternoon. He is on a life-support system at a hospital in Lupane.

Mpala was on his way to the funeral of a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) member when he was kidnapped. His captors, numbering about 20, knocked his wife unconscious during the kidnapping incident which happened about 16:00 at Lupane business centre, in full view of the public.

The abductors stabbed and dumped him about 6km from the business centre. While he was unconscious and bleeding profusely, the gang drove away in the MPs white Nissan Hardbody truck. The vehicle was, however, recovered in nearby Tsholotsho on Monday morning.

After regaining consciousness, Mpala was helped by members of the public to get to Lupane police station from where he was rushed to St Luke’s Hospital. Mpala, 47, could hardly speak at his hospital bed in Lupane on Sunday night where he is under police guard. “The people who kidnapped him are known war veterans,” said a close relative. “We can identify some of them.” Mpala’s aides said he had fainted at least four times from excessive bleeding.

He was expected to be air-lifted to Bulawayo for special medical attention late on Monday, said MDC officials. The officer commanding Matabeleland North Province, Senior Assistant commissioner Boyathi Ngwenya confirmed the attempted murder of the MP. He refused to give further details, nor could he confirm any arrests.

Mpala’s aides said war veterans had held a meeting at Lupane business centre shortly before his abduction. “This gory abduction and other incidents of violence, coming a day after President Mugabe and his entire Zanu PF leadership were trying to project themselves as non-violent at a meeting with some carefully selected church leaders, which bordered on blasphemy, exposes Zanu PF as a hypocritical party,” said MDC spokesperson, Learnmore Jongwe. Mpala, farmer Patrick Ashton, and seven other opposition supporters are among the latest victims in the violent presidential campaign in which Mugabe faces his stiffest challenge from Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC.

The seven opposition supporters were detained at Murambinda hospital, 300km south of Harare, in Buhera district of Manicaland province after they were attacked with axes and other sharp instruments by Zanu PF supporters and war veterans in their office at the growth point on Saturday. Two of them have been transferred to Harare because their condition is considered serious.

Lawyer Innocent Gonese, who is the member of parliament for Mutare and chief whip, said that, instead of helping the sick and arresting offenders, police picked up 32 MDC party supporters and detained at Murambinda police station. Gonese said: “I went to the police station to represent them, but police refused me access which is illegal because, as a lawyer, I am allowed by law to see my clients.”

He said police told him they could not allow him to see the victims until officers from the criminal investigations department from Mutare had charged the 32 suspects. Pashayi Muchauraya, MDC spokersperson for Manicaland, and Roy Bennet, MP for Chimanimani, later managed to transfer the victims to the Avenues Clinic in Harare.

Muchauraya said MDC supporters were attacked when Zanu PF supporters raided their offices at Murambinda, accusing the opposition party of organising meetings in the province. Wilbert Marimbere, an MDC actvist, was arrested by police when he went to report the incident. Jongwe said: “Unlike in the run-up to the June 2000 parliamentary elections when Zanu PF fanned violence in daylight and were proud of it, this time there is a slight shift in their strategy.

In public, they preach non-violence and project themselves as saints, but, on the ground, their militia has clear and ruthless instructions to the contrary.” Since the MDC was launched, some of the opposition party’s MPs have been beaten up or their homes have been attacked by Zanu PF members and state agents. No arrests have been made in any of the cases.

From ZWNEWS: The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO has released its report on political violence for the month of December. December proved to be one of the most violent months so far, with at least seven murders, including two by decapitation.

The tally of crimes brings the number of documented deaths over 2001 to 48, and the number of cases of torture to 2245. If you would like a copy of this report, please let us know. It will be sent as a Word attachment to an email message - total size 107 Kb, or around twice the size of the average daily ZWNEWS.