Zanu PF youth force tobacco farmers to abandon the work for party meetings

The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that Zanu PF youth in Mazowe North constituency forced the tobacco farmers to abandon their activities to participate in the party activities.

The ZPP said it is reported Zanu PF youths were mobilized to force residents and farmers at Dharwe Farm to attend party meetings and participate in electing people into cell and district level structures. Initially residents are reported to have resisted the initiative resulting in poor attendance however party youths were reportedly sent on a massive door to door campaign threatening people with unspecified punishment if they failed to attend.

"Tobacco farmers are reported to have abandoned their scheduled harvesting to attend party activities. A known Zanu PF activist Tendai Nhau and his colleague Forgive Kwenda are reported to have given orders to party youths to mobilize people by force," ZPP reported.

"They are suspected of having been given the powers and authority from a district chairperson who is also a war veteran called Cde Nhepera. The farm has a total of over 400 people who are residents. It is alleged that a register has been designed to keep records of all the residents and this instills fear in residents. In ward 26 all farms are reported to have been restructured according to Zanu PF cell structures in preparation of the 2018 elections campaign."