By A Correspondent- In a statement to the media which triggered furore, Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe said preliminary investigations, conducted by the police and other state security agents, show that Member of Parliament for Harare West Joanna Mamombe, Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, had links with people and organizations like the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who coached them to claim that they were abducted and tortured by unknown assailants.

Kazembe said:

“… Needless to say, without at all preempting due process of the law, their three statements show glaring signs of rehearsal and even possible coaching which may not stand up to rigorous cross examination.

There is no relationship whatsoever between the findings of the medical examination that was carried out on them by the government medical officer in the presence of two human rights doctors of their choosing on 15 May 2020 and the injuries they claim to have suffered as a result of being subjected to beatings with ‘open palms, booted feet, fists, rifle butts and other blunt objects, including being thrown out of a moving car and being cut up with broken bottles and razor blades on their backs.

There was no evidence of any swelling, fresh lacerations, wounds or even fractures consistent with the kind of manhandling they claimed to have gone through. This being the case, it is important to advise the public that, in a bid to ascertain if there was any rape or sexual assault, samples were taken and results are pending.”