World loses faith in Mnangagwa as Zim soldiers brutalise citizens

EDINBURGH — Zimbabweans have expressed  frustration at what they perceive to be limited coverage in the international media of violent domestic conflicts between citizens and the authorities. There are few international correspondents in Zimbabwe, whose government repressed the right to freedom of speech more than two decades ago as former President Robert Mugabe upped the pace of the Zanu-PF land grab campaign. Nevertheless, information has leaked out about the nasty tactics to quell unrest against rising fuel prices and economic collapse. Stories of soldiers going door to door threatening to torture and kill people who eke out a living as street vendors have made it into The Washington Post, for example. The US publication underscores that faith in President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who won last year's election amid allegations of vote rigging, is quickly dwindling amid growing concerns of human rights abuses. There appears to be little hope that Mnangagwa can persuade international investors to support Zimbabwe on his watch. – Jackie Cameron 

By Thulasizwe Sithole

It was midnight when soldiers threatened to burn Jennifer Mutobaya and her three teenage sons alive inside their home in the Zimbabwean town of Kadoma, writes The Washington Post's correspondent.

"Protesters had filled the streets earlier, chanting slogans and burning tires, joining a display of fury at a hike in fuel prices that is part of a broader economic collapse in this southern African country.

"The scene at her home was one repeated hundreds of times across Zimbabwe over the past week as security forces launched their biggest crackdown on dissent in years," the newspaper continues

___STEADY_PAYWALL___