Zimbabwe killing started '5 April'
Updated on 17 June 2008
A Zimbabwean intelligence officer pinpoints torture camps and says the death toll is much higher than thought.
Tonight, an active serving officer in Mugabe's intelligence service tells Channel 4 News that Mugabe's officers are unleashing a campaign of terror and murder.
Human Rights Watch says it has documented 36 political killings in Zimbabwe since April. The opposition party, the MDC says 67. However the intelligence officer told Channel 4 News that the true death toll is far higher.
'Right now the killing is going on, until the election day.'- Zimbabwean intelligence officer
He has told the programme:
"I know 21 people from one camp only. But you can multiply from the camps around Harare and then you can put an average of people who died, because the number of people who died at one camp doesn't differ from other camps.
Because there is competition among the leaders to have the highest number in their camps."
He then put the number of dead at, at least one hundred in just one province alone.
This officer still works in Zimbabwe's intelligence services. He can't be identified for his own safety but using a map he has revealed to Channel 4 News the location of a network of camps across Zimbabwe.
He has told us that, "They started interrogating and killing people on April 5th. That's when they started setting up camps.... "
Our intelligence source has also told Channel 4 News that Mugabe did rig the first round in this election. First by sitting on the results for several weeks; and secondly by changing the figures in 21 constituencies:
"The intelligence agencies came in and changed all the figures on the polling stations in those 21 constituencies. They changed all the figures..."
This inside man has told us that the current killing will continue until the election run off so that people will not vote: "Right now the killing is going on, until the election day."
He continued: "They beat them, interrogate them... so that in the next election people are not going to vote."
Of his own role, he has told Channel 4 News that that his underlings are under orders to torture and kill.
"Personally I say to them to use plastic, to burn plastic and put it on their backs. What else? To put them in handcuffs. And with iron bars - to beat them the whole night. (And) to put them in water."
And
"They are forced to say Zanu PF slogans."
For security reasons we cannot make this report internationally available online.
