By Tichaona Sibanda
The MDC-T on Thursday last week launched an audacious rescue mission to free an activist who was abducted by ZANU PF elements in Concession, Mashonaland Central province.
16 year-old Makomborero Mbiri was abducted from Msengezi farm when he was delivering party material to a ward chairman in the heartland of ZANU PF territory. He spent almost 12 hours in captivity.
“I failed to locate the ward chairman, so I decided to walk back home. Suddenly I was confronted by three men who wanted to know what an MDC person was doing in their area,” Mbiri said.
“I explained that I was on a mission to distribute outreach program material for the MDC party. This did not go down well with them and the mood suddenly changed when they started attacking me with fists. I tried to fight back but I didn’t stand a chance,” Mbiri added.
The scared 16 year-old was marched to a house belonging to a retired soldier. There, he was stripped naked and interrogated by the ex-soldier and several war veterans and youth militia who had gathered when word went around that an MDC ‘spy’ had been captured.
“They wanted to know the MDC strategy on the outreach program, how much Tsvangirai was paying me for the services to the party. I simply told them I was just delivering material for the outreach program.
“I guess this infuriated them as they became abusive and menacing and started pushing and shoving me around. The retired soldier even threatened to kill me and throw my body in a nearby dam,” narrated Mbiri.
At one point, when he was giving up hope of being found alive, Mbiri had the audacity to chant MDC slogans: “Chinja maitiro enyu imimi vanhu veZANU PF, pamberi neMDC (change your ways ZANU PF people, forward with the MDC)” to which his captors responded with a burst of laughter.
“I think they thought I was going mad, that I was losing my mind under interrogation,” he said.
But he had enough presence of mind to find a way to communicate with his mother and let her know of his predicament. He managed to persuade “a good Samaritan” to lend him a phone.
This one phone call to his worried mother put into action a rescue mission that involved several MDC-T MPs and officials, with some of the MPs travelling during the night from Harare. On its way to search for Mbiri, the team requested assistance from Mvuri police. All they got were three unarmed officers.
The team, aided by the police walked through the night, farm to farm, compound by compound, until they reached the house where Mbiri was being held, almost 5 km from where he was abducted.
“I was asleep and I think it was around 1 am when I heard voices shouting outside the house. When the militia guarding me opened the door I immediately saw some policemen. Among the search party I quickly recognised the provincial youth chairman for Mashonaland province, Tonderai Samhu,” a relieved Mbiri said. SW Radio Africa
[newsletter]
