Zimbabwean beaten in case of mistaken ID

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe National Students Union President Clever Bere says unknown assailants severely beat a former student thinking he was the group's leader.

South West Radio Network reported Tuesday six attackers beat Benson Matsveruka Friday evening as he approached a house used by ZINASU leaders and left him for dead.

"The gang started assaulting him indiscriminately using clenched fists and booted feet, mistaking him for me," Bere told the network.

The assailants broke off the attack when one of them realized it wasn't the student group's leader, Bere said.

Bere said he couldn't pin the attack on a faction led by former Vice President Brilliant Dube, said it could have been state security operatives trying to take advantage of the dispute between the two sides.

The national students union fractured this year following disagreements over whether or not to support the government's Constitution reform efforts. Bere's group allegedly is supported by the National Constitutional Assembly and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, which favored a boycott. Dube's group was backed by the MDC which wanted them to participate.