MDC Spends $5M Supporting Political Violence Victims
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora explained the party had to provide financial, material and moral support to affected families.
HARARE — The Tsvangirai MDC formation says it has since 2000 spent more than $5 million assisting thousands of supporters who were victims of political violence around the country. Party activists faced violence right from the beginning in 1999 when the party was launched as Zanu PF supporters resisted the formation of the new party. Thousands were beaten up, intimidated, harassed, displaced and in some instances murdered leaving the labour-based movement to pick up the pieces. MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told VOA the party had to provide financial, material and moral support to affected families. He said they also had to provide psychological counseling to victims of political violence. "We have done a lot as a party but it has not been enough," said Mwonzora. "We had to pay for safe houses, medication, families' upkeep and related issues." Mwonzora said his party also assisted in burying murdered cadres as well as providing building materials to re-build homes that were destroyed in arson attacks by alleged Zanu PF supporters. Due to lack of resources the party has not been able to attend effectively to all needy cases, he said, adding the MDC is worried by the resurgence of political violence in some areas following President Robert Mugabe’s re-election and swearing in. Mutoko South MDC activist, Chamunorwa Mundete, whose home was torched in 2008, told VOA the party assisted him with building material to re-construct his hut. Mundete, whose homestead was again razed to the ground following the 2013 July elections, plans to approach Harvest House this week for more support. In its 2013 election manifesto, the MDC promised to compensate all victims of post-independence atrocities, including Gukurahundi and Operation Murambatsvina.