Vito Complex depicts a war zone as axe wielding gang attacks traders
Harare:Traders at Mbare’s Vito Complex are living in terror following a string of brutal assaults carried out by a gang purportedly affiliated with Zanu PF youth leader Emmanuel Mahachi.
The ruling Zanu PF party’s leadership and the police have been asked for protection by the traders, who are also party members.
A number of legal battles have resulted from ownership disputes among Zanu PF officials regarding the complex.
On Monday several operators ran for cover after axe wielding men pounced on them, destroying their wares, cars and assaulting others.
The assaults were caught on camera, and as the videos went viral on social media, many people demanded that the people responsible for them be taken into custody.
After Mahachi was arrested last Saturday following another violent incident at the complex in which he allegedly pulled a gun, fired two shots into the air, and threatened to shoot welders at the complex, it is thought that the attacks were carried out in retaliation.
On Monday Mahachi appeared at the Harare magistrates court answering to the allegations and a magistrate threw out the case, refusing to place him on remand on a robbery charge.
Court documents claim that after pointing a gun at Bright Nyamusopo and threatening to kill him, Mahachi ordered Nyamusopo and the other workers at the complex to leave, leaving behind their machinery, which Mahachi allegedly took.
His lawyer while having an exchange with the investigating officer Cephas Hove said Mahachi was acting in self defence from intruders.
After the court’s decision, freeing Mahachi, his supporters allegedly went back to the complex attacking everyone viewed as being aligned to the owner of the complex Blessed Charakupa while boasting that nothing will happen to them as they control the system.
“We have incurred loses after our wares were destroyed by this gang. The evidence is there and we call upon the police to act on it. We cannot have a situation where one person wields so much power that everyone here is in fear. We are all from the same party and we should benefit equally. This is now tarnishing the image of the party,” a trader who preferred anonymity told this publication.
Allegations are that the recent court events have given the gang so much power to conduct themselves with impunity.
“They boast that nothing will happen to them as their leader (Mahachi) walked out of court free despite serious allegations against him. Everyone now fears that reporting to the police will be a waste of time as nothing will come out of it. We now appeal to the party’s leadership to intervene and restore peace,” another trader said.
