Shocking tales of sexual abuse by soldiers,
Fifty-year-old Rosemary Chiadzwa of Ward 30 in Chiadzwa village was in the company of her niece at a business centre widely known as maSugar Sugar in Marange in Manicaland where she sells vegetables to support her family when the horror unfolded.
What appeared like any normal working day one afternoon in 2015 soon became a traumatic lifetime experience for the two.
Chiadzwa and her niece were about to head home when a joint army and police reaction team descended on the business centre to arrest suspected diamond dealers.
The two were caught up in the melee and were apprehended by a soldier who ordered Chiadzwa to go, leaving behind her niece in his custody.
“I thought my niece was also going to be set free so I went straight home.
“She eventually got home, only to tell me that she had been sexually abused by the soldier without her consent or protection in exchange of her freedom,” Chiadzwa recalls the ordeal.
This incident may have happened nearly seven years ago, but the sexual abuses have intensified over the years says Chiadzwa who now lives in constant fear of being raped herself.
Chiadzwa, who lost her husband in 2005, said her marital status has made her a soft target of soldiers, who have been making sexual advances towards her.
She says her children and grandchildren are now being used as hostages as they are arbitrarily arrested as a way to force her into giving in to the sexual advances.
“What we are going through in Chiadzwa as women is very painful, especially now that they know that I’m a widow,” Chiadzwa said.
“They come at my house even in the middle of the night asking whether there are any diamond dealers inside.
“But they know it’s just me, my three children and three grandchildren.
“I now live in constant fear of being raped at any moment.”
Chiadzwa’s case characterises the experiences of many women in the vast diamond concession who are either into vending or run small shops to support their families as job opportunities from diamond companies are hard to come by.
“Soldiers are not doing their core business,” said Marvelous Mawoyo of Tinoengana village, who sells fruits and vegetables.
“They are supposed to protect the community and not harass us.
“If they propose to you and you reject the proposal they will make your life difficult.
“And they don’t care whether you are married or not.”
Ellen Nyadongo of Chiadzwa village who also sells vegetables, recalled one night when she got arrested and ended up being physically assaulted after she refused to submit to sexual advances made by a soldier, who had arrested her.
Queen Mutamba of Chirasika village, who sells eggs and clothes, said at times the security agents forcefully take away their wares “if we can’t pay the fine”.
It emerged that when the soldiers assist female villagers climb into the military or police trucks, they indecently touch their private parts and force them to interlock legs with men who would have also been apprehended.
The villagers said their daughters were also being impregnated by members of the security forces.
Investigations supported by Information for Development Trust (IDT) — a non-profit making outfit probing bad governance — showed that Marange women were subjected to an array of gross human rights violations and crimes.
These ranged from arbitrary arrests, detentions, extortion, bribes and sexual abuses.
While cases of sexual abuses were mainly attributed to military personnel, it was also found that police officers were working in cahoots with their army counterparts to abuse their authority by arbitrarily arresting bona fide Marange villagers during raids meant to clamp down on diamond dealers.
Police and army are equally involved in corruption where they order arrested villagers to pay $2 000 in bribes (at the time of the investigation) to secure their release or risk detention at a security base for three nights where they are made to sing continuously without food and are subjected to manual labour.
Moreover, state security personnel demand bribes of between US$5 to US$10 from small business owners operating at various business centres in Marange.
Bars are made to pay as much as US$50.
“We are told that the money is for shop licences,” said Irene Sithole, who runs a shop at maSugar Sugar business centre.
Sithole said the Mutare Rural District Council (RDC), which oversees the area, has not been issuing shop licenses to Marange businesses since it is a protected area.
This, she added has created an environment conducive for corruption.
“Generally, they charge between US$5 to US$10 per raid but no receipts are given,” Sithole said.
“At one point I paid US$80 for a shop license valid for one month, which is too much.
“Recently I was arrested on al