|
Back to Index
Political
violence report: June 2004
- Overview
Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum
September 09, 2004
Download this
document
- Word
97 version (248KB)
- Acrobat
PDF version (216KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader
on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking
here.
Overview
Members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), who have frequently been
arrested in the past for holding peaceful demonstrations in support
of various causes, were again arrested while engaging in a peaceful
demonstration in Zimbabwe. On 16 June 2004, 43 WOZA women were detained
at Matshobana Hall by CIO agents and ZRP officers in Mpopoma constituency
(BULAWAYO Province) where they were scheduled to have a community
meeting. Jenni Williams, leader of WOZA, claims that two plain-clothes
policemen interrupted the opening session of the meeting wherein
the facilitators were discussing project formulation. The officers
stopped the meeting and informed the women that they would be charged
under POSA. Williams reports that the women were locked up in Mathsobana
Hall for about 15 minutes. A group of fully geared anti-riot police
then reportedly arrived at the scene and ordered the women to get
into a police Santana vehicle parked outside the hall. The women
were taken to Western Commonage Police Station in the Santana in
several loads.
At the Police
Station, the 43 women were locked up in what the police called the
yard. A count was done - 43 women and 7 babies were recorded and
they were told to wait for officers from the Law and Order Maintenance
section. One female and six male officers from the Bulawayo Central
Police Station’s Law and Order Maintenance section reportedly arrived
and began to shout obscenities at the women. The officers were identified
as Detective Inspector Sango and Ngwenya, Detective Sergeants Mlothswa,
Hlongwane, and Detective Constables, Mathazi and Ndlovu. Four of
the arrested women were detained for the night whilst the rest of
them and the 7 babies were released. The four were taken to court
the following day but the prosecutor allegedly declined to prosecute
and the women were subsequently released.
On 19 June 2004
WOZA women’s freedom of association and assembly was further curtailed.
73 WOZA women who had gathered at the Bulawayo Main Post Office
to commemorate the United Nations World Refugee Day were arrested
by uniformed police officers. By noon, the WOZA leadership who had
remained out of the reach of the police gathered more women together
and marched to Bulawayo Central Police Station in solidarity with
their colleagues who had been arrested. Whilst marching along Fife
Street, the road on which the police station is located, a police
Defender truck arrived and uniformed officers alighted from their
vehicle and descended upon the women. The WOZA women who were singing
a religious song, quickly sat down to avoid assault. Eleven women
were reportedly arrested by the police and detained in custody for
3 days and nights at Donnington Police Station. These 11 women were
eventually taken to Court on the 4th day and were initially
to be charged under POSA, however, they were eventually charged
under Section 7 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The WOZA women
were remanded to 13 August 2004 on free bail. The 73 women that
had been arrested on the morning of 19 June were released later
that same day having paid $25 000 Admission of Guilt fines.
Attacks on MDC
supporters attending a rally at Mukandabhutsu in Msasa Park, Hatfield
constituency, (HARARE Province) on 6 June 2004 makes evident the
climate of intolerance by ZANU PF supporters to those people who
want to associate with other political parties. WM was reportedly
assaulted by two ZANU PF youths while guarding the area designated
for the MDC rally at Mukandabhutsu Ground in Msasa Park Harare.
The victim alleges that he was hit with a beer bottle on the head
and sustained a cut on the left ear. GG, also an MDC supporter,
claims that at around 15:30 hours, when he was at Mukandabhutsu
Bottle Store in Msasa Park, arranging for transport to carry chairs
and other equipment which had been used during the MDC rally in
Msasa Park that afternoon, a group of about 15 ZANU PF youths wearing
white T-Shirts written ‘Zimbabwe 24’ and chanting ZANU PF slogans
beat him with a wooden log and fists on the hand and legs while
demanding to know who had given the MDC permission to hold the rally.
Several other incidents of assault and political victimisation surrounded
the Mukandabhutsu rally.
Totals:
1 June 2004 - 30 June 2004
Cumulative
Totals: 1 January 2004 - 30 June 2004
Visit the Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
