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ZLHR
concerned at violation of workers' rights
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR)
April 28, 2005
The Zimbabwe
Lawyers For Human Rights (ZLHR) note with grave concern the unwarranted
harassment, by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, of labour rights activists
generally and more particularly on the eve of the May Day Celebrations.
The harassment of workers movements is a clear and contemptuous
violation of workers’ rights, which are enshrined in various international,
regional and national human rights instruments. It must not be tolerated.
On the 27th
of April 2005 Mandhla Sibanda of Bulawayo, a paralegal with the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions was arrested and detained by police
details from Rhodesville Police Station in Harare. He was facing
charges of theft for allegedly stealing from the hostels of a local
training centre where he was attending a ZCTU Para-Legal Refresher
Course. Mr Sibanda had actually lost some property as a result of
the break-in that occurred at the centre and reported to the management.
On his way back to Bulawayoo he was told that the Police had recovered
his property and he had to come and identify it. The police under
the guise that he was going to identify his property picked him
up. On arriving at the Police Station he was informed that he was
under arrest and was subsequently detained overnight. The Police
indicated that they would detain Mr Sibanda until they had conducted
a search at a house were he had slept on the night of the crime.
This is a clear case of abuse of process as the Police in this case
effectively violated his right to personal liberty, ignored the
presumption of innocence and detained him for the purposes of investigation.
Clearly this is incorrect pre-trial procedure and only goes to give
merit to the numerous allegations of lack of professionalism and
disrespect for citizens universal human rights and fundamental freedoms
as enshrined in our Constitution and other human rights instruments.
In Mutare five
ZCTU officials who were attending a Preparatory May Day Celebrations
meeting for organising how to hold the celebrations were picked
up. The cause of their arrest, from information at hand, was that
they had convened an ‘unlawful gathering without Police clearance’!
With all due respect this was more like an office meeting of ZCTU
officials planning on how the May Day celebrations would proceed.
They were merely carrying out their mandate as given to the by the
workers they represent. Commemoration of the day was in no way a
security threat. The preparatory meetings were also not a threat
to national security. This is clear when regard is had to the fact
that the meetings were held countrywide so that the various towns
and cities would commemorate the day together with their trade union
representatives. The ZCTU officials were interrogated at length
on what exactly they planned to do come 1 May. They were released
after 1900hrs without any charge preferred against them. Their right
to personal liberty, rights of freedom of association and assembly
were effectively trampled upon without justifiable cause.
Today in Harare
and at around 0900hrs a group of workers’ rights activists commemorating
and heading towards the Ministry of Labour offices to mark the day
were picked up and detained for at least an hour for no apparent
reason. They were later released on condition that they did not
engage in a similar procession. It is this culture of placing such
conditions, which are not reasonably justifiable in a democratic
society, which ZLHR condemns in the strongest of terms. It is common
cause that workers the world over mark and commemorate these days
and they have the inalienable right to do so. The State has no right
to effectively delete all these rights at whim, as has been the
case in Zimbabwe recently.
Over and above
this ZLHR has been watching with increasing dismay at the apparent
structural and systematic attack, by the Government, on the leadership
of the ZCTU through hired demonstrators. The government of the day
must not interfere in the day to day running of the labour body.
Doing so effectively amounts to government interference in the enjoyment
of workers’ rights and freedom of expression. Government’s duty
rather is to fulfil, respect, promote and protect those rights it
agreed to have accorded to workers through various pieces of legislation
as well as is required by international human rights law norms and
standards.
For these reasons
ZHLR calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to:
- Protect,
promote, respect and fulfil workers’ rights;
- Desist from
a culture of clamping down any form of exercise of these rights;
- Allow Zimbabwean
workers to freely assemble and associate among themselves to join
like-minded workers of the world in commemorating workers’ Day
without undue and unjustified hindrances come 1st May
2005;
- Desist, forthwith
from meddling in the internal affairs of the autonomous and legitimate
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
Visit the ZLHR
fact sheet
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