MDC Alliance Says Councillor Abducted And Murdered By ‘State Agents’

HARARE – An MDC Alliance councillor was killed and later dumped near his home in Hurungwe on Thursday night, the party said.

The MDC Alliance said the body of Lavender Chiwaya, its ward 4 councillor in Hurungwe, was discovered early Friday. He was naked and dumped roadside, about four houses away from his home in the small town in Mashonaland West province.

The party said it suspects Chiwaya died following an “abduction by state agents.”

Gladys Hlatywayo, the party’s international relations secretary, said Chiwaya “was being hunted by state security agents before his gruesome murder.”

MDC Alliance treasurer David Coltart tweeted: “This is the harsh reality of Zimbabwe.”

Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was still gathering information about Chiwaya’s death.

The killing will heighten political tensions in the country after security forces last month launched a brutal crackdown on dissent, targeting critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

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