A GROUP of Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom recently petitioned that country’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, calling on Britain to use its diplomatic links to engage Harare authorities over the abduction and murder of opposition activists.
Organised by various pressure groups for Zimbabweans in the diaspora, the petitioners focused on, among other things, the current political developments in Zimbabwe.
Among those who participated in the petitioning are exiled Chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members, Zapu European Union chairperson Duke Maplanka and John Burke of the Restoration of Human Rights, among others.
They also submitted the same petition to the South African embassy in the UK.
One of the petitioners, Simbarashe Jingo, said he travelled hundreds of kilometres from Milton Keynes to London to join Zimbabweans protesting the assault on democracy back home.
“We still preach and we will shout to say never again shall we continue to witness the abduction and killing of our compatriots and we hope the UK will use its diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe to pressure the Zimbabwean government to respect freedoms and rights of Zimbabweans as enshrined in the Constitution of the country,” said Jingo.
CCC activist Tapfumaneyi Masaya was killed by suspected State security agents ahead of the December 9 by-elections.
He was abducted and later found dead.
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CCC legislator Takudzwa Ngadziore filmed himself being abducted by gun-toting suspected State security agents and he was later found abandoned and naked in Mazowe.
In October, unknown assailants kidnapped and tortured James Chidhakwa, a former opposition MP for Mabvuku-Tafara.
The list continues to grow and in the past, some of those abducted, even in broad daylight, have never been seen or heard from again.
One example is Patrick Nabanyama, an MDC activist and campaign manager for MDC politician David Coltart.
On June 19, 2000, Nabanyama was abducted from his home in Nketa, Bulawayo, by people believed to be war veterans, shortly before that year’s general elections. He has not been seen since.
Another protester, Rudo Yvonne, said the continued incarceration of opposition politician Job Sikhala was one of the reasons she joined the peaceful protest.
“As a Zimbabwean, I feel that we are being deprived of our rights and it is unfortunate that Sikhala continues to be jailed in what is clearly a case of political victimisation,” she said.
It is estimated that thousands of Zimbabweans have fled the country due to the worsening political and economic environment.
