By TellZim Reporter
MASVINGO – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit set to begin in Harare on August 17 when President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as the next Chairperson for the regional body seems to have triggered government’s state machinery which has launched a crackdown on opposition, human rights activists and any perceived dissenting voices.
Several activists and those perceived influential are being harassed, with their cellphones being forcefully seized while state operatives hunt for information that may be considered inciting or tainting the country’s image.
Some have since relocated in fear of being targeted by arbitrary arrests, with reports of security agents forcefully seizing activist cellphones, invading their WhatsApp chat groups and sending inquiry messages to leaders of any possible demonstration ahead of the summit.
Human rights lawyer and Masvingo Urban MP Martin Mureri said they had since lost count of people who were threatened by members of the security forces and said they were targeting opposition political leadership, activists and human rights defenders.
“I don’t have the exact number of people who were arrested or threatened but there are so many who have been visited by the security agents. They use unmarked vehicles and they ask several questions, especially who is planning demos.
“Several people have been arrested in a very short space of time and I have received several calls from some who would have been threatened or arrested,” said Mureri.
He said a number of them were no longer comfortable living alone especially at night as they fear being abducted.
