Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) leader Mqondisi Moyo claims he narrowly avoided abduction on Christmas Day after a man claiming to be a police officer wanted to forcibly take him to Entumbane Police Station in Bulawayo.
Moyo believes this was an abduction attempt because the man, who claimed to be a police officer, did not disclose why he wanted to take him to the police station could have told him why he needed them to go to a police station together but instead did not tell him and instead called for โback up.โ
The MRP leader alleges this incident demonstrates that the State is not pleased with their work as a party and are after him to cripple their movement.
โWe are making inroads as a party and the State hates that and calls us radical for wanting to restore our Mthwakazi nation,โ he said and told CITE the incident occurred around 6 pm on December 25, 2022, after his evening prayers in a bush behind Entumbane Complex.
โI usually pray alone and afterwards had stopped to buy some bananas and after having moved for about 30 metres, a man approached me from behind and asked if I was Mqondisi Moyo. I said no, but the man switched his phone and went to a certain WhatsApp group, showed me my picture and some stories. The man said, โthis is you,โ but I denied because he appeared unsure since I was putting on a straw hat,โ he narrated.
According to the MRP leader, the man produced his service card and claimed to work for Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI) at Entumbane Police Station.
โHe said to me, we must go back to a police base at Entumbane Complex, where I was to produce my ID (national identification card) for verification but I refused and told the man perhaps he was a criminal but I had already seen that the man was a state agent,โ Moyo said, noting the man took a picture of him and heard him make a call to police in Njube and Entumbane for backup.
โI also heard him say he sent my picture to the WhatsApp group and that he was monitoring me but I swiftly moved and left him.โ
Moyo claimed the would-be abductor pursued him, but he quickly hid in the bush.
โIt was a miracle that I evaded him and rolled on the ground because it was almost dark. He couldn’t locate me but the man said I must come out as he would shoot at me. I could also hear him talking to other people, informing them to go along Emakhandeni robots, as he anticipated I might emerge from that side,โ he said.
The MRP leader said he had to lay low to make sure that his would-be abductor had left.
โMy feet were swollen, I couldnโt walk properly but I slowly walked to a house that belongs to a long-time friend of mine, an elderly man where upon arrival I called my security team, which is where they found me,โ Moyo claimed.
When asked if the MRP leader had reported the incident to police, Moyo replied, โno, these are people who want me down.โ
In March of last year, nine party members were jailed for 33 to 36 months each for inciting violence after staging a protest at Bulawayo Central Police Station, claiming security forces had raided Moyoโs house.