CCC parliament aspirant's home stormed by Zimbabwe police

Renatho Ndou, a Beitbridge-based politician from the Citizens Coalition For Change (CCC), claims that Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers, accompanied by other security agents, raided his home, falsely accusing him of involvement in a protest during the recent Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Summit.

Ndou, who ran as a CCC candidate in the Beitbridge East national assembly election last year, was awakened at 3 a.m. on Saturday by "dozens" of state security officials surrounding his home. They accused him of providing a vehicle used to transport tyres that were burned near the Mashavire shopping complex as part of a demonstration during the summit.

In an interview, Ndou denied any involvement, stating, "I had no part in that, I don't know anything about it. I cooperated with them and showed them all they were looking for, including details of the movement of my car, which fortunately had been parked well before the time they alleged." He also took the police to see his truck and asked them to interview the security guard, who confirmed with a log book that the vehicle had been parked during the time of the alleged protest, contradicting the accusations. Ndou noted that the officers, realizing their mistake, apologized for the misunderstanding.

More than 160 opposition activists and human rights defenders were arrested and denied bail leading up to the summit, as the government accused them of planning protests during the high-level meeting of SADC Heads of State. Efforts to get comments from the police in Gwanda Province were unsuccessful.