Bodies found in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's rural areas are in the grip of drought

By Thabo Kunene BBC, Bulawayo

The remains of four opposition Movement for Democratic Change members have been retrieved by local residents and police from an abandoned dip tank at a village in northern Matabeleland.

They also recovered the body of a member of the Zanu-PF youth militia who is believed to have been killed by his colleagues about two weeks ago following a dispute within their ranks.

After the youth disappeared, villagers in Lukona in Nkayi District began looking for him and questioned other militia members.

They admitted that the body was thrown into the dip tank but only after villagers forced a confession out of them by beating them up.

The villagers then alerted the police who carried out an operation to search for the body.

This also led to the discovery of the skeletons of the four MDC members.

Blame

When interrogated by police, the youths blamed local war veterans saying they murdered the MDC members in secret camps established during the election campaign earlier this year.

Two war veterans have now been arrested.

The MP for Nkayi, Abednico Bhebhe confirmed the arrests, and the discovery of the bodies.

He said he intends to meet police detectives to discuss the case.

Mr Bhebhe, a member of the MDC, was himself abducted and severely tortured by war veterans in Nkayi during the election campaign.

Efforts to contact Matabeleland North police spokesman, Inspector Mthokozisi Moyo, have proved fruitless.