Zimbabwean Prison Officer's Film Shows Mugabe Vote-rigging

A film that graphically demonstrates how Robert Mugabe's supporters rigged the elections in Zimbabwe has been smuggled out of the country by a prison officer. It is believed to be the first footage that shows ballot-rigging actually taking place and comes as the Zimbabwean president is facing increasing international pressure.

Shepherd Yuda, a 36-year-old prison officer, fled the country two nights ago. His wife and children are with him. He said he hoped the film, much of which was shot inside his country's notorious jail system, would help draw further attention to the violence and corruption in Zimbabwe.

Yuda, who has worked in the prison service for 13 years, was motivated both by the increasing violence directed towards members of the Zimbabwean opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the murder two months ago of his uncle, an MDC activist. Initially, he had just intended to chronicle secretly what life was like inside the country's jails but he found himself present when a war veteran and Mugabe supporter organized the vote-rigging by getting prison officers to fill in their postal ballots in his presence.Using a hidden camera, Yuda filmed for six days prior to the run-off election last week in which Mugabe claimed victory with 90% of the poll. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had earlier announced that his party would not be participating because of the intimidation."I had never seen that kind of violence before," said Yuda, of the run-up to the election. "The impact has left a lot of orphans; it has left a lot of people displaced. You cannot expect that from your government. You expect that from a rebel group. How can a government that claimed to be democratically elected kill its people, murder its people, torture its people?"The film, which was made for the Guardian and will be shown on BBC Newsnight tonight, shows how Yuda and his colleagues at Harare central jail had to fill in their ballots in front of Zanu-PF activists. "This was the most difficult moment of my life," he said of marking his cross beside the name of Mugabe. "These people forced me to do [something] I have never done in my life."

Yuda also obtained footage of Zanu-PF rallies in which voters are warned that they should pretend to be illiterate so that an official can fill in their ballot for them on behalf of Mugabe. He was able to film the MDC's general secretary, Tendai Biti, in leg irons in jail. Biti, who is now on bail, faces treason charges that carry the death penalty. The leaders of WOZA, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, who were jailed in May, are also shown.

Having completed the filming, Yuda left the country with his family for a new life and is now at a secret destination. "I don't regret doing this, although it is a painful decision I have taken," he said. "We can live without the memories of seeing dead bodies in the prison, dead bodies in the street, dead bodies in my family. I've lost my uncle. My father was also beaten by Zanu-PF. I am praying to God: please, God, deal with Zanu-PF ruthlessly."Mugabe has now been sworn in for a sixth term as Zimbabwe's president, a process that Tsvangirai described as "a complete joke". More than 130,000 people spoiled their ballots. International pressure is mounting against Mugabe. It emerged yesterday that a US draft resolution to the UN will call for sanctions against him and demand that his government immediately begin talks with the MDC. If adopted by the UN security council, the resolution would freeze the financial assets of Mugabe and 11 other Zimbabwean officials and ban them from traveling.