'I'm still feeling the pain': Journalist says he was severely beaten at Zimbabwe army press conference
Coup or no coup? The situation is still unclear in Zimbabwe, but the country is certainly in the midst of a political crisis.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Major General Sibusiso Moyo took to the country's airwaves to announce that long-serving President Robert Mugabe was under house arrest.
Just a few hours before Moyo issued his bulletin, journalist Columbus Mavhunga and another reporter were called to a press conference held by the army — where Mavhunga says the two men were beaten.
Once they arrived, soldiers from the Zimbabwe army checked the two journalists for weapons, and forced them onto their stomachs.
"'Welcome to the press conference. Please lie on the ground facing down,'" Mavhunga remembers one of the soldiers saying.
"We were lying on the ground, facing down on our tummies and then they started beating us up," Mavhunga tells The Current guest host Piya Chattopadhyay.
Mavhunga says the soldiers used everything at their disposal to beat the men, including their guns.
"And someone was even saying you can shoot them."
The soldiers stepped on the men to walk over them, and crushed the palms of the journalists' hands, according to Mavhanga.
As we go towards the election in Zimbabwe, we hope that press freedom, media freedom is respected.-Columbus Mavhunga
Mavhunga recalls the abuse taking place for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Left with hallucinations from that night, doctors have advised Mavhunga to pursue psychological help for trauma. He says he also struggles with severe physical injuries — including little mobility in one of his arms, and a missing right thumb nail.
"It was really painful ... I'm still feeling the pain."
After the beating, the soldiers went on to take his iPhone, cash, and press credentials, says Mavhunga.
Mavhunga tells The Current he is concerned for the protection of journalism in his country as Zimbabwe undergoes significant political transition.
"As we go towards the election in Zimbabwe, we hope that press freedom, media freedom is respected."
Listen to the full conversation above.
This segment was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson.