Opposition Leader Lovemore Madhuku Attacked by Masked Men at Party Meeting

Harare - Zimbabwean opposition leader and constitutional lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, was severely beaten by masked assailants during a meeting at his party's offices in Harare on Sunday, in an incident witnesses said involved police complicity.

This comes as escalating crackdowns on dissent over proposed changes to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's rule through the proposed constitutional amendment bill No.3 intesify.

Professor Madhuku, the longtime leader of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), sustained injuries to his back, arms and legs after a group of masked men stormed the party's Herbert Chitepo Avenue headquarters and attacked attendees with baton sticks.

At least 16 other NCA members were also injured in the assault, which occurred while the group was said to be discussing opposition to constitutional amendments aimed at allowing Mnangagwa to remain in power until 2030, beyond his current term limit ending in 2028.

"They came straight for me and started beating me up," Madhuku told reporters from a local clinic in Harare, where he was receiving treatment, local reports say.

 Witnesses say the masked men were shouting that 'you want to create problems for us,' and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers were with them.

"There were two police vehicles there. The police did nothing. They just stayed seated there," Madhuku is reported having said to local media. 

NCA Spokesperson, Madock Chivasa, confirmed the details.

"We were holding a meeting this morning when police rounded up and attacked our members, including our leader Professor Madhuku," he said.

Some reports indicated the attackers arrived in unmarked Ford Raptor vehicles, a type often associated with state security agents.

Zimbabwe's police Spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, did not immediately respond to media requests for comment on the allegations of involvement or failure to intervene.

The attack comes against a backdrop of mounting political friction in Zimbabwe, where Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party has faced opposition, internal divisions and external criticism over efforts to amend the constitution and extend his presidency.

 Mnangagwa, who came to power in a 2017 military-backed ouster of longtime leader Robert Mugabe, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in 2028.

Factions within ZANU-PF, however, have pushed the "ED2030" agenda, calling for changes to allow him to continue leading.  

Opposition groups and civil society have decried these moves as a regression to authoritarianism, predicting increased repression including arrests, media controls and pre-emptive strikes on critics.

Madhuku, a law Professor at the University of Zimbabwe and a veteran democracy activist, has been a prominent voice against such amendments.

 He co-founded the NCA in 1997 as a civic group advocating for a new, people-driven constitution to replace the one amended multiple times under the late former president, Robert Mugabe.

The NCA transitioned into a political party in 2013 after rejecting a government-led constitutional reform process.