31 January 2011
Zimbabwean refugees living in South Africa on Monday expressed their fears for family members they have left behind.
A Cape Town human rights group says incidents of political brutality and violent intimidation are on the rise in the run-up to elections there.
A date has not yet been set, but there are concerns that there will be a wave of state-sponsored violence, similar to those that have preceded every election since 2000.
Anthony Mutheti has lived in South Africa for the past eight years. He left two brothers and three sisters behind in Masvingo Province when he left the country of his birth. Political intimidation is rife in the region.
“It’s getting quite difficult now, because Zimbabweans are forced to appear in the Zanu-PF meetings at night,” he said.
Mutheti is saving money to try and help them get to South Africa as soon as possible.
Human rights group People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (Passop) believes there may be an influx of refugees in the coming months as a result of forced migration.
(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)
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