Victims of violence living in shacks

Up to 90 supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), whose homes were destroyed by ruling-party militias in Mutasa, east of the capital Harare, in the run-up to the June 2000 parliamentary poll, are still living in makeshift shelters, the ‘Daily News’ reported on Thursday. Evelyn Masaiti, the Member of Parliament for Mutasa, on Monday said an appeal for building materials made last year had not yielded a positive response.

The families cannot afford the building materials on their own. They were left homeless after ZANU-PF activists allegedly went on a rampage, targeting six homesteads belonging to MDC supporters. The Red Cross has provided the families with food handouts and plastic sheeting. Masaiti said families had lived under harsh conditions since the start of the rainy season last November and a lot of their property had been destroyed.