Ex-minister ‘foils’ abduction attempt
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Ex-minister ‘foils’ abduction attempt

HARARE – Expelled Zanu PF senior member and former Masvingo resident minister, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, said yesterday that he had foiled an abduction attempt on him after he dramatically turned the tables on alleged intelligence details who had been trailing him for more than a week.

Kudakwashe Bhasikiti
Kudakwashe Bhasikiti

Bhasikiti, a former member of Zanu PF’s highest decision-making body, the politburo, was recently expelled from President Robert Mugabe’s warring party on untested allegations of plotting to oust and kill the frail and long-ruling nonagenarian.

He told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that he had been trailed by unknown people over the past week on a daily basis, who would also drop a lady close to his gate at his Borrowdale house in Harare, to monitor him, his family and his movements.

The miffed and traumatised Bhasikiti said it had become apparent that the people who were following him also meant to abduct him in similar fashion to what had happened to kidnapped journalist-turned-democracy activist, Itai Dzamara — who was abducted in broad daylight four months ago by suspected State agents in the Harare high density suburb of Glen View and has not been seen since then.

Dzamara’s wife Sheffra, and other neighbours have said that in the days leading to his abduction they had witnessed a lot of nosy strangers in their area. It was claimed these people were on spying missions targeted at the missing Occupy Africa Unity Square protest initiative leader.

“I was being followed by three vehicles, which included a Toyota Fortuner, to and from my house. Whenever I got home they would leave a young woman who appeared harmless sitting near my exit point or just close by.

“This has been going on for the whole week. This morning (yesterday) they followed my driver as he went to buy bread. We were alerted to this by concerned neighbours and we phoned the driver and he duly saw them.

“On his way back they again followed him and dropped the girl at the same point. It was at that point that I asked my guys to apprehend the young woman and we took her to Borrowdale Police Station,” Bhasikiti said.

Asked if the lady had offered any resistance when his aides had charged at her, the former Mwenezi East legislator said there had been “a struggle” as they moved to apprehend her.

“I could see a person close to my home daily when I left home and even when I returned. However, it did not occur to me that anything was amiss until some gardeners and airtime vendors told me that I was being trailed.

“When we moved to apprehend her, the young woman resisted and tried to phone some people, but we took her to the police who questioned her.

“When we asked the police officer who was doing the questioning who the girl was, he just said she was from the system.

“As we were leaving the police station, we noticed the vehicle that had dropped her near my house, since my driver had the number plates. The police went to the car and when they arrived, the two men inside closed the windows and sped off.

“After that group had sped off, another group came in and another young lady who initially said she stayed in Sunningdale but later claimed to stay in Glen View claimed that the young woman we had apprehended was her relative.

“I now have no doubt in my mind that these people are the same people who abducted Dzamara,” Bhasikiti said.

Asked if he was now not living in fear, he said, “Life is always in God’s hands, and I have now beefed up my security”.

A docket, RRB2494285, was opened at Borrowdale Police Station.

However, several attempts to get a comment from the police yesterday were fruitless, with the cellular number of police spokesperson Charity Charamba not available, while her assistant Paul Nyathi was neither picking up calls from the Daily News on Sunday nor responding to cellphone messages.dailynews

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