Key Points
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Zimbabwe court acquitted three activists after yearlong trial.
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Detainees reported torture and threats while in custody.
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Rights groups say repression continues despite acquittal.
A Harare court has acquitted three human rights activists after more than a year on trial, closing a case critics said never should have started.
Robson Chere, a teachers’ union leader, Namatai Kwekweza, a youth activist, and council member Samuel Gwenzi were cleared of disorderly conduct charges on August 21.
They had been arrested in July 2024, pulled off a plane at Harare International Airport and held for hours without contact with lawyers or family.
Prosecutors accused them of joining an illegal protest in June 2024. But Kwekweza’s passport later showed she was not even in the country at the time. Despite this, the case went on for months.
Abuse allegations during detention
The trial also brought attention to how the activists were treated after arrest. Chere came to court in bloodstained clothes with visible injuries.
Doctors later warned his kidneys could fail if he did not receive urgent care. Gwenzi told the court that interrogators threatened his family while beating him.
Rights groups said the case was a clear attempt to intimidate activists before a major regional summit in Harare. United Nations experts called the charges “baseless” and urged Zimbabwe to stop targeting critics.
Victory with limits
After the acquittal, Kwekweza welcomed the ruling but said it showed deeper problems in Zimbabwe’s justice system. “It feels like half a victory,” she said. “The system remains the same.”
Groups including Human Rights Watch said arbitrary arrests and harassment of activists remain common under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
They called on authorities to end politically motivated prosecutions and respect rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
