Edward Chikombo was a Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

an journalist, who, until 2002, worked as a cameraman for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is the state-controlled broadcaster in Zimbabwe. It succeeded the Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1980, which in turn had succeeded the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation in 1979...

 (ZBC). He was murdered in late March 2007.

Chikombo is believed to have sent to foreign media images of police brutality against supports of the Movement for Democratic Change

Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai

The Movement for Democratic Change Zimbabwe is a political party and the largest party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe. It is the main formation formed from the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005.-Foundation:...

 (MDC), including images of Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. He is the President of the Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai and a key figure in the opposition to President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 February 2009...

 lying in hospital after one such beating on March 11. On March 29, Chikombo was abducted from his home. According to The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

,

His captors drove a silver pick-up truck of the same make used in numerous similar abductions during a sustained three-week terror campaign targeting government opponents.

Chikombo's body was discovered a few days later.

The murder sparked an outcry from international media and the International Federation of Journalists

International Federation of Journalists

International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...

.

The murderers were not identified, but foreign media linked the killing to an "escalation of the government's campaign of violence and intimidation". Chikombo's death in 2007 foreshadowed the killings of (reportedly) over eighty MDC supporters during the Zimbabwean presidential election in 2008

Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008

The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on 29 March 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front , Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change , and...

 - including Gibson Nyandoro

Gibson Nyandoro

Gibson Nyandoro was a Zimbabwean war veteran and political dissident who died in military custody in Zimbabwe in May 2008....

 and Tonderai Ndira

Tonderai Ndira

Tonderai Ndira was a Zimbabwean political dissident murdered in May 2008.Ndira lived in the township of Mabvuku and Tafara, east of the capital, Harare, and was a "prominent activist" member of the Movement for Democratic Change...

.