ZAPU secretary for security, Andrew Ndlovu has been arrested over an undisclosed land dispute amid fears that the arrest could be politically motivated.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said he was unaware of the matter. “We have not received such a report yet,” he said.
Zapu president Sibangilizwe Nkomo, however, claimed that Ndlovu’s arrest was political.
“He sent me a message at 04:30 hours on Wednesday (yesterday) morning telling me that he was arrested by criminal investigation officers. He is our security secretary, a very high position. We think this is politically motivated to intimidate us. Why should someone be arrested at night?
“This is intimidation because he is a political figure. We will not be deterred, we will go ahead. Right now we have several rallies lined up in the following weeks ahead of the elections,” Nkomo said.
He said Ndlovu told him that he was arrested over a land issue, which he believed was politically motivated.
“He told me that he is being taken to Harare where he is involved in a land dispute with land barons there.”
Nkomo said the opposition party was not surprised that its members were being targeted ahead of the polls expected mid-year.