THE wife of the missing activist, Itai Dzamara, Sheffra yesterday said the family was being reduced to beggars after the abduction of their breadwinner, as she made an impassioned plea for his release, eight months after he went missing.
BY OBEY MANAYITI
In an interview with NewsDay during a prayer session for Dzamara at Africa Unity Square, which was organised by friends and family members, Sheffra said her family’s situation was getting dire with each passing day.
“In the past months we got help from different organisations, but now, I take it they are tired. We are now beggars because abductors took my husband, they did such a heinous thing and we are surviving on begging,” she said, as she struggled to hold back tears.
“Sometimes we get and sometimes we don’t, so we are living a life of paupers.
“Life is getting harder with each passing day and even our day-to-day life has changed. We are now beggars because of cruel people who abduct people like they are the Creator, yet they are just people too.”
Dzamara went missing eight months ago in mysterious circumstances and police are still to come up with any leads concerning his disappearance.
The prayer session was held under the eye of several police officers, who followed proceedings from a distance.
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Bishop Ancelimo Magaya of Zimbabwe Divine Destiny challenged authorities to provide details of the missing activist, as he condemned lack of security of persons in the country.
“We were demonstrating the fact that we are alive to the fact that eight months ago, Itai disappeared and his whereabouts have not been accounted for. This happened in a Zimbabwe whose government has failed to guarantee people’s security,” Magaya said.
“So what we are doing today is a continuation in another form and version of an ongoing public demonstration in prayer and also condemnation of such wanton, ruthless display of power by those who think they control people’s lives.
“We are happy that we have been able to conduct this prayer meeting today and this is going to be an ongoing thing.”
Dzamara’s brother, Patson, said the family was going through a painful period, where they had to live with the unsolved puzzle of his sibling’s disappearance.
“This has not been an easy journey, especially for the wife and the kids, not knowing where the husband or the father is. This has not been an easy period for them, but at the end of the day, we are still holding on to hope and we believe that one day we are going to see Itai,” he said.
Temba Mliswa, a former Zanu PF stalwart and now a staunch critic, said the police were not doing enough to find Dzamara.
He said senior government officials, including the Presidency, should do more to ensure the missing activist is brought back.
