Zimbabwean activist Itai Dzamara applied for assistance to leave Zimbabwe eight years ago claiming that Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic agents wanted to kill, but the Forum for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR), a continental organisation for investigative journalists, to which he was referred advised him that it was not in a position to help him.

Dzamara disappeared on 9 March last year, almost seven years after he sought held, and has not been heard of since.

According to an email he sent out on 8 May 2008 which was copied to FAIR, Dzamara wanted assistance for him to leave Zimbabwe together with his wife and son, because his life was in danger.

Dzamara had two children at the time he disappeared a son aged seven and a daughter aged three.

“I  am on the hit list for the regime and have been advised to leave by insiders who say there is a plan to kill me by the regime,” he wrote to FAIR. “They broke into our home last month when we were away and left a note saying ‘we are closing in on you’ prompting us to move to another place.  We are planning to come to SA as soon as possible but in need of assistance especially regarding accommodation at least initially.”

Dzamara was a correspondent of The Zimbabwean, a London-based newspaper published by fellow Zimbabwean Wilf Mbanga, at the time.

When asked why his employer could not help him if his life was in danger, Dzamara told FAIR that Mbanga wanted him and another reporter, whom he named, to “continue the fight”, apparently for the benefit of his paper.

“No, dont contact Wilf now. I don’t want to jeopardise my plans of leaving Zim,” Dzamara wrote FAIR. “Wilf has made his position to me and (named journalist), which is that he wants us to remain here and ‘continue the fight’ apparently to the benefit of his papers. Unfortunately, he is not prepared to assist with ensuring our security or safety.

“This is probably the sixth time he has been alerted about plans to attack us and goes on to keep quiet. Our reading of it is he doesnt want us to leave mainly for the sake of having us write for him. But …, I have seen it and I know what is happening-its real, its not jokes, they want to kill people and that includes us. I have been told this by people involved in the plan. We have seen the hit lists and clear signs of them implementing their plans. I cannot wait for my time to become a dead hero.”

Efforts to contact Wilf Mbanga to verify Dzamara’s story or to ascertain if he was ever approached have so far been unsuccessful. The Zimbabwean was shut down in October last year.

As proof that people were after him, Dzamara sent an email to FAIR allegedly written to Mbanga by a purported army official named James Shoko. The email was also dated 8 May 2008, the same day Dzamara wrote to FAIR.

“For Mr W Mbanga

“I support your newspaper and all the good you are doing for our country and because of that I found it hard not to tell you this. A group of CIO members, military intelligence and police officers has been set up for the purpose of doing surveillance on your journalists (Name), Itai Dzamara, (Name), (Name) and (Name), according to the list they have under the title “The culprits at The Zimbabwean”

“There are stars on (Name) and Dzamara’s names and at the bottom it is indicated that these two are the most wanted.

“One of my juniors here at KG6 is in the group and has told me that they have been ordered to kill the two most wanted if they find them or maim them. Some information has been gathered about them and (Name)’s home is known. They say Dzamara recently changed from where he was staying after some of the members in the group had visited there.

“My advise is that (Name) must imediately change where he is staying and they must all be very carefull.

“The group has made all the dirty tricks including getting MDC t shirts and posters and letters written on MDC letter head which they will leave after attacking your reporters so that it will appear like the work of mdc.

“I am willing to continue informing you in order to help precent this on yur good journalist.

James Shoko

KG6”

The letter was emailed by jkshoko@yahoo.com.

To fortify his story, Dzamara also sent FAIR an email he allegedly sent to Mbanga on 21 April 2008. It read:

“A group of three men in plain clothes and driving a mazda pick up without number plates visited my home yesterday morning when we had gone to church.

“Our neighbour said they asked about our whereabouts and later tried to force open into the house. they broke the outside screen but failed to open the door. when we got back we learnt about this and arranged to move to my  cousin’g place in westagate-where we are still staying. the same people later visited my parents’ and told my sister who was at home that they were looking for me but without further details. my neighbour says they visited again today.

“i might not be able to file for this issue. will keep you informed. i am currently at my cousin’s together with my wife and son.”

FAIR advised Dzamara that it was not safe to mention where he had moved to if his life was in danger.

Dzamara was abducted from a barbershop in Highfield almost in the same manner that he had described seven years earlier raising the question that if he was abducted by ZANU-PF or state agents as widely claimed, why did they have to wait for seven years to do that?  Had Dzamara become an even greater threat? How?

These are all questions that might remain unanswered unless someone owns up about what happened to Dzamara.-Insider

Note: The writer was chairman of FAIR in 2008-2009 and joined FAIR full-time from June 2009 to 2012.