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 Lovender 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.
Rights groups say dozens of people including opposition leaders, journalists and union leaders were arrested and some abducted and tortured after Mnangagwa deployed the army and police to thwart planned anti-government protests on July 31.
Over two dozen opposition activists and government critics remain in hiding, according to rights groups.
Mnangagwa denies rights abuses and accuses the opposition of working with hostile Western countries in a bid to force him out power.
