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Murder of MDC activists, Ndiweni and Sibanda callous
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
June 18, 2007

The murder of two members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Edward Ndiweni and Albert Sibanda in Matobo is callous and calculated to silence opposition activists or any dissenters ahead of the general elections scheduled for March next year.

Whilst we do not want to pre-empt the investigations currently being carried out by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the death of Ndiweni and Sibanda is evidence that the infrastructure of violence is still intact and paints a grim picture of next year's elections.

The Crisis Coalition demands fuller investigations into the cause of the death of two MDC activists and urges government to disband the youth militia and other vigilante groups that are aligned to ZANU PF which have been implicated in acts of terror before. We are also concerned that reports on violence that have been produced by credible NGOs like the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum on a monthly basis have not been followed up by law enforcement agencies in the country.

Maiming, abduction, torture and disappearance of opposition activists and government's inaction in bringing perpetrators to book have largely contributed to the culture of impunity in Zimbabwe. The government is under obligation to protect the rights of citizens, including the inalienable right to life which is provided for in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

The Coalition urges government to take urgent steps in as expeditious a manner as possible to protect citizens from criminals who kill to safeguard their political interests. In this vein, we feel that police must come up with something within a week's time that will give a clue as to who murdered Ndiweni and Sibanda.

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