In an alarming development, police have intensified their crackdown on human rights activists and opposition politicians. Over ten individuals have been arrested nationwide ahead of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit set to take place in Harare in two weeks.
Reports have emerged of severe torture among those detained. On Wednesday, suspected state agents apprehended four prominent activists at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. The activists, Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, Samuel Gwenzi, and Vusumuzi Moyo, were en route to a civil society conference in Victoria Falls.
Roselyn Hanzi, a lawyer and director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), tweeted on Thursday that all four activists were tortured, with Chere facing severe abuse. In Mutasa, another rights defender was also arrested and brutalized.
“It’s tragic that people are being brutalized under the president’s name. I, too, am a victim,” a rights defender in Mutasa claimed. Photos displayed the extent of injuries sustained during a community engagement program with women on July 29.
“I was tortured and brutally assaulted by state security agents who accused me of trying to overthrow the government. I endured one hour and 45 minutes of intense torture, including beatings with a tree log, sjamboks, booted feet, and open palms,” the victim recounted. He has since reported the incident to the police in Mutasa under RRB 5821873.
In Mutare, 11 residents were arrested at a house and charged with holding an unsanctioned meeting. ZLHR stated the police accused the group of plotting acts of public violence.
“The crackdown has now reached Mutare, where 11 residents have been arrested for allegedly gathering and planning public violence to disrupt the Sadc summit,” ZLHR announced.
Among those detained was clergyman Kevin Nyamakanga, arrested at his Harare home for allegedly inciting public violence during the Sadc summit. Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume was also reportedly arrested last night in Harare. Zimbabwe National Students Union leader Emmanuel Sitima was arrested and charged with missing a court appearance scheduled for July 31.
Opposition activist Job Sikhala posted on social media that Ngarivhume was taken by unknown individuals in an unmarked vehicle.
“Jacob Ngarivhume, president of Transform Zimbabwe, was taken from his home by unknown persons in an unmarked Toyota Fortuner GD-6,” Sikhala wrote.
In Bulawayo, police arrested pro-democracy campaigner and Nkulumane Ward 22 Councillor Bruce Moyo. He was allegedly protesting against one-party rule and denouncing the arrest of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Jameson Timba and 76 other Harare residents.
Over 100 activists remain in custody, arrested for alleged public unrest and protest-related crimes in the past two months. Kwekweza, Chere, Gwenzi, and Moyo were detained for more than eight hours before being charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly supporting Timba and the 76 CCC activists.
Timba and the CCC members were arrested in June for holding an unsanctioned meeting in Avondale, Harare.
In Kariba, 14 CCC activists appeared before Magistrate Tawanda Banda, who remanded them until August 8. They were charged with participating in a gathering intended to cause violence. The activists spent most of the day at the court as the magistrate only addressed their case late in the evening.
Lawyer Clara Phiri of ZLHR confirmed that her clients would return to court next week to apply for bail.
“They were remanded in custody until August 8 and will apply for bail on that day,” she said.
Meanwhile, Harare provincial magistrate Ruth Moyo heard that state agents severely assaulted Chere and his colleagues during their arrest at the airport. Civic society leaders were represented by lawyers Jeremiah Bamu, Tinashe Chinopfukutwa, and Charles Kwaramba, who likened the arrests to scenes from a horror movie.
Chinopfukutwa described how a squad of five men forcibly removed the accused from a plane without explaining their arrest. The activists were taken to a disused room and assaulted by 12 men, believed to be state agents. They were tortured and denied access to legal representation for several hours.
Bamu complained that his clients’ mobile phones were confiscated. He described Kwekweza’s severe kicking and Chere’s heavy assault, which left him unable to sit. The accused were forced to chant ruling party slogans and were threatened with further violence.
Prosecutor Anesu Chirenje assured the court that the state would investigate the complaints. According to court papers, the accused chanted CCC slogans at Harare Magistrates Court after Timba and party members were denied bail. The police ordered them to disperse, but they resisted.
Source: Newsday
