A Zimbabwe opposition activist has been found dead after he was abducted on Saturday during a political campaign just outside Harare, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party said late on Monday, the second abduction in weeks of an opposition party member.
Tapfumaneyi Masaya was reportedly bundled into a vehicle by unknown men while campaigning for main opposition party CCC’s candidate ahead of by-elections on Dec. 9, the party said.
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi told Reuters on Tuesday that Masaya was tortured and dumped on the outskirts of Harare.
Masaya’s body was later moved to a mortuary at Parirenyatwa Hospital, about 5km from central Harare, where it was identified by CCC members who had been searching for him, Mkwananzi said.
Reuters could not independently verify the events.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in office, after a disputed election that international observers said fell short of democratic standards.
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Zimbabwe has a long history of forced disappearances and deaths of political activists dating back to the 80s. The opposition has often accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of torture and deaths of its activists.
Masaya’s abduction and killing comes barely two weeks after CCC lawmaker Takudzwa Ngadziore was abducted, tortured and dumped about 50km north of Harare by armed men. He survived the attack.
Source: cnn.con
