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Veterans’ leader arrested

    JOHANNESBURG

    The chairman of the Zimbabwe National War Veterans’ Association, Wilson Kufa Chitoro, appeared in court on Thursday on charges of murder and leading a terror campaign in the run-up to the parliamentary elections.

    According to newspapers and officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Chitoro appeared before a magistrate in Zvishavane, in south central Zimbabwe. He was remanded to appear for trial on 13 July and told to apply to the High Court for bail.

    The state alleged he had directed six ex-combatants to kidnap and brutalise three MDC supporters, one of whom died on 4 June in the nearby Mberengwa district. MDC officials told IRIN Chitoro’s appearance in court marked the first high profile court appearance arising out of a campaign of pre-election rural violence and intimidation.

    Chitoro, 60, a close associate of Chenjerai Hunzvi, the leader of the independence war veterans, is also an officer in the Midlands district of the ruling ZANU-PF party.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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