CCC MP demands US$150,000 damages from CIO operatives

Opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) legislator Takudzwa Ngadziore has filed a lawsuit at the High Court, demanding US$150,000 from state security agents who allegedly abducted and tortured him last year.

Ngadziore identified the operatives, Nicholas Kajese and Abraham Pasi, through social media after the incident was livestreamed. He is suing these operatives along with Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Director-General Isaac Moyo, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, and Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe.

Ngadziore claims he was abducted outside his residence in Harare on November 1, 2023, while on his way to a parliamentary session. He was reportedly blindfolded, stripped naked, and tortured by gun-brandishing men who injected him with an unknown substance before dumping him in Christon Bank.

During the ordeal, he was questioned about his political activities and plans for the CCC. A passer-by found Ngadziore and took him to a medical facility for treatment.

Represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Ngadziore argues that his abduction and torture were unlawful and violated his constitutional rights to personal security, freedom from torture, and human dignity. He is seeking US$50,000 each for pain and suffering, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and humiliation and embarrassment. The case is yet to be scheduled for hearing.