Pro-government militia ‘start a riot’

Pro-government militias went on the rampage in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo on Monday after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) headed for a clean sweep in municipal elections, Sapa-DPA quoted independent sources as saying.

“War veterans went into the streets and were sjamboking (whipping) pedestrians going past the party headquarters,” said Shari Eppel, the local director of Amani Trust, which monitors incidents of violence. “People were running away and the area was sealed off by riot police,” she said, quoting witnesses at the scene in Makokoba township adjacent to the city. “Police were beating people. There were visible riots going on.”

She said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but according to the report officials were checking in the local hospitals. Calm appeared to have been restored by about 4 pm, she added. The violence came immediately after electoral officials announced that MDC candidates had won all seven councillor’s seats contested at the weekend. MDC mayoral candidate Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube won the critical election. “It’s a victory for the people of Bulawayo,” he was quoted as saying.