Amnesty International, Southern Defenders and Human Rights Watch have jointly called on the Zimbabwean government to launch a prompt and thorough investigation into the alleged murder of opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist and church leader, Tapfumaneyi Masaya.
Masaya was reportedly abducted by unknown men last Saturday while campaigning for a CCC candidate ahead of by-elections scheduled for December 9.
His body was discovered days later on the outskirts of Harare.
In a joint statement, the two organizations expressed grave concern over the escalating cases of abductions, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings of parliamentarians, opposition political activists, and human rights defenders in Zimbabwe.
They urged the authorities to take effective measures to prevent these violations, bring perpetrators to justice, and ensure access to justice and reparations for survivors and victims.
The statement highlighted a series of recent incidents involving CCC activists and members. On August 26, 2023, suspected state security agents disrupted a CCC press conference and attempted to abduct party spokesperson Promise Mwananzi. Later that evening, opposition activist Nelson Mukwenha was abducted from his home, tortured, and dumped in a forest outside Harare.
On September 2, 2023, Womberaishe Hende, the elected city council member for Glen Norah Ward 27 in Harare, and his friend Sanele Mkhuhlane, were abducted, tortured, injected with an unknown substance, and dumped on the outskirts of Harare. On October 23, 2023, former opposition MP James Chichakwa was abducted in Harare, tortured, injected with an unknown substance, and dumped in Acturus, Mashonaland East province.
On November 1, 2023, another opposition MP, Takudzwa Ngadziore, was abducted near his home in Harare. Before his abduction, he conducted a Facebook Live exposing the identities of his abductors, alleged members of a covert police operations team known as the “Ferret Team.”
Ngadziore was tortured, injected, and dumped naked in Christon Bank, Mazowe, on the outskirts of Harare.
The statement also drew attention to Zimbabwe’s history of unresolved forced disappearances, citing the case of Itai Dzamara, an activist and government critic who vanished in 2015 after being abducted by five men from a barber shop in Harare. Despite calls for an independent investigation, his whereabouts remain unknown.
