Lest We Forget Tonderai Ndira

The body of Tonderai Ndira, a prominent MDC activist abducted by Zanu PF militants from his Mabvuku home was found at Parirenyatwa Hospital in May 2008.

His decomposing body bore the hallmarks of extreme torture as his lips and tongue were cut out. The dreadlocked activist, who friends described as ‘youthful, soft-spoken and humble,’ left behind a wife and 2 children.

According to his brother, Barnabas Ndira, Tonderai’s body was found by police at a farm in Goromonzi and was taken to the mortuary at Parirenyatwa. He said because the body was partially decomposed his relatives could only identify him by his legs and a wristlet he always wore.

He was so severely beaten, including deep wounds in his back and broken knuckles, that at first, his father had difficulty identifying him. People started gathering in Mabvuku, singing, dancing and paying their respects. Despite no electricity, little food and fears of disruption by Zanu (PF) youths – as happened at the funerals of Ndira’s fellow MDC activists Godfrey Kauzani and Cain Nyeve – hundreds of people went to Mabvuku.

“We only knew it was my brother by his distinctive ring, his bangles, and his unmistakeable height,” said Cosmas Ndira, as family and friends filled his small home to mourn his passing before his funeral, which is yet to be finalised.

“His jaw was shattered, his knuckles broken, a bullet hole below his heart, many many stab wounds and a large hole at the back of his head which seemed to have been caused by a hammer.”

Jimmy Chidakwa, a colleague and fellow activist, struggled to contain his anger both at the assassins and his party’s leadership. “They are cowards, all of them. Ten men to take down one unarmed man ? And where are our leaders? Out of the country.”

Barnabas said the authorities at the hospital told them that orders had been issued from above’ suspending all post-mortems at the hospital. This was clear evidence that the state was trying to hide the nature of the violent crimes it was committing. The family battled to secure the release of the body.

32-year old Ndira was a veteran of police arrests, clocking up an incredible 35 arrests for his brave activist work. He was a key activist in the MDC and Combined Harare Residents Association and that prominent role made him a target for the Zanu PF thugs.

Nothing demonstrated that prominence more than the fact that MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai asked for the funeral to be delayed until he came back in the country from exile. Tsvangirai communicated the message to the family and the plans for the funeral were jointly coordinated.

Nixon Nyikadzino, an activist with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition SA Chapter, described Ndira as; ‘a quiet comrade who could only speak through action.

‘Most of our mobilisation in Mabvuku and the greater Harare was done through him since he was so connected to the comrades that we could not do without him. His ability to stand against police brutality, his dexterity in rising above the rest and his ability to stand up when all chips were down, lit our revolutionary hope.’

Ndira may not have had the international renown of Steve Biko, the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, but throughout Zimbabwe he was known as one of Mugabe’s most implacable, fearless opponents. And the details surrounding his death certainly could have come from the darkest days of apartheid.

Beaten and tortured frequently, arrested more times, it’s believed, than anyone in Zimbabwe’s political history (32), for years, the tall, slender father of two and MDC security secretary for Harare province, had deftly kept one step ahead of the authorities. When things were hot, he moved. Twice he escaped custody by jumping out of a moving truck.

Student leader Beloved Chiweshe described Ndira as a popular comrade who braved the harsh political climate in Mashonaland. Chiweshe lamented how Zimbabweans had turned on each other saying,

‘I never thought we could turn to each other with such brutality, after the bitter and protracted struggle that our people went through to be free. It pains me. Oh Rest in Peace Tonderai. Your blood will water the revolutionary tree and keep the revolutionary garrison going.’

In 2002, Ndira told BBC’s Panorama: “We are prepared to die. It is just the same, we are still dying in Zimbabwe. We are dying by hunger, by diseases, everything, so there is nothing to fear, nothing to [be] scared [of].”

On the morning of May 14, they came. Around nine armed men in plain clothes descended on Ndira’s small home in Mabvuku, the ramshackle township east of Harare where hatred for Zimbabwe’s leaders seems to seep out of every pore.

He was assaulted in front of his children, Raphael and Linette, then dragged in his underwear into a white Toyota truck. For over a week , family and friends frantically chased every half lead and rumour that came their way, offering a reward for information. But there was nothing.

When Ndira’s father, a traditional chief from Makonde, asked the police where his son was, they laughed. Then they received the news they had dreaded. Ndira’s body was found by fellow MDC members at Parirenyatwa Hospital’s mortuary when they went to recover the remains of two other activists.

This article has used contributions by Nixon Nyikadzino, Beloved Chiweshe, Lance Guma, BBC and an unnamed friend of Tonderai Ndira.

Lest We forget is an initiative by Nehanda Radio to remember the fallen heroes and victims in the fight for peace, justice and democracy in Zimbabwe. It will also name and shame the perpetrators until they are brought before the courts and tried for their crimes.