JOHANNESBURG (Sapa) - A Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) councillor was abducted and tortured before escaping, he told media in Melrose, Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Bothwell Pasipamire, 30, a councillor from Kadoma Ward 3, was abducted on December 13 by four armed men he believed were members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

He was abducted shortly after midnight from his house in Kadoma around 140km south-west of Harare.

Pasipamire believed he was targeted because he had been a vocal opponent of the ruling Zanu-PF .

He was taken to an old farm two hours drive from Kadoma, which he believed was near Goromonzi, 32km east of Harare, and locked in a cell.

Pasipamire believed the camp also held the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina Mukoko, but he did not see her.

Pasipamire was interrogated and tortured by three men, one of whom introduced himself as army warrant officer Mabhunu.

Mabhunu told Pasipamire his job was to "finish off all MDC members".

Pasipamire then told Mabhunu that the "MDC is like HIV. You can never finish it off completely".

The soles of Pasipamire's feet were beaten and he was ordered to strip before being sexually molested and abused by Mabhunu.

Pasipamire was asked to kill a soldier being held at the same camp.

He refused. He was taken back to his cell in the afternoon.

He could hear other people being tortured nearby.

"It was terrible to hear people screaming and crying," he said.

Pasipamire was kept awake at night by men who hosed down his cell, his bedding and himself.

The day after his abduction, a Sunday, he decided to co-operate with his captors in order to survive.

Pasipamire and other young men whom he did not recognise were ordered by Mabhunu to pretend to beat up a soldier who had allegedly taken part in riots in Harare.

A film crew recorded the incident.

He was then given a hand-written list of questions and answers, in English, which Mabhunu ordered him to read in front of a television crew.

He was interviewed by a man in a suit who asked him questions such as, "Why have you been beating and killing soldiers of the Zimbabwe National Army?" to which he had to reply, "It is because they are keeping Mugabe in power."

If Pasipamire made a mistake in answering, they stopped and he had to answer that question again.

He was made to say that Morgan Tsvangirai had ordered him to kill soldiers and that he had been trained in Botswana with money gained from British and US diplomats Pocock and Magee in Harare.

"Those are all lies," Pasipamire told media on Tuesday. "The government knows there are no camps in Botswana or any other country.

"Mugabe is trying to tarnish the image of (Botswana president) Ian Khama."

After completing the interview, he was taken back to his cell and given food and water.

Pasipamire was held for three more days.

"I was convinced that these people would kill me, before they put my interview on TV, otherwise I was sure to tell someone that it was a lie," he said on Tuesday.

He believed the reason for the propaganda was to allow the Zimbabwean government to declare a state of emergency, to impose martial law or to call for fresh and violent elections.

Pasipamire said that as an MDC member for ten years he knew many party members but had never heard anybody talking about arms, violent tactics or training camps.

"This convinces me in my own mind that the story is false. And if there was any truth, why would CIO need to abduct people like myself to tell lies on video about such camps," he said.

Near or on Wednesday December 17, Pasipamire was given two injections in his buttocks, not given any food during the day and driven to Harare that evening.

"I had the feeling they were planning to kill me."

Pasipamire said he could not reveal any details of his escape because it could present a danger to the people who had helped him and to those who were still held captive.

"There are some inside Zanu-PF and CIO who do not believe in what they are doing."

When questioned by national and international media, Pasipamire said he was sure people had been killed in similar incidents to those he had experienced.

"Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with beautiful people and very ugly government.

"They are torturing people like me and it is with our suffering that we pay for Mugabe's desire to stay in power."

He could not return to Zimbabwe because he believed he would be killed but said that he would testify to his statement in court should the CIO members who abducted him, including Mabhunu, go on trial.

"I do believe that change will come soon and then things will be okay in Zimbabwe," he said.

Pasipamire would be moved to an undisclosed location after Tuesday and would have no further contact with the media.