Anti-ED term extension activist abducted, tortured

A member of the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), which opposes President Emmerson Mnangagwa's proposed tenure extension through constitutional amendments, was abducted on Tuesday night, severely tortured, and later dumped in police custody.

The victim, Baird Gore, from Glen Norah, Harare, was seized amid rising political tensions following the gazetting of the proposed constitutional amendments. These amendments, first tabled at a Cabinet meeting last week before being gazetted by National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda, seek to extend Mnangagwa's tenure by two years and make sweeping changes, including scrapping direct presidential elections in favour of selection by Members of Parliament.

The CDF said unknown armed men in a black Ford Raptor first assaulted Gore's brother while demanding Baird's whereabouts. When Baird returned home, he was blindfolded, beaten with switches and batons, and interrogated about CDF convener Tendai Biti and the organisation's resistance strategy. He reportedly sustained a suspected broken hand and back injuries.

After hours of abuse, Gore was dumped at the City Sports Centre near the central business district. With help from a well-wisher, he contacted his family and went to Glen Norah Police Station, where a report was filed. Despite receiving urgent medical care, he was forcibly removed from hospital around 2am by armed uniformed and plain-clothed officers from Machipisa Police Station and later detained at the station.

"This coordinated pattern of abduction, torture and re-arrest demonstrates that CDF is now under siege," the forum said. No comment has been obtained from the police.

Biti condemned the abduction and torture as "barbaric," stressing that citizens have a constitutional right to peacefully defend the 2013 Constitution. Activist Obert Masaraure described the proposed amendments as an attempt to bypass the democratic will, noting that section 328(7) of the Constitution requires a referendum to amend presidential term limits.

Exiled former Cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo has expressed support for the amendments, which critics say represent propaganda dressed in academic rhetoric. President Mnangagwa's current term constitutionally expires in 2028.