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Continued
harassment of lawyers and undermining of police authority
Zimbabwe Lawyers For Human Rights (ZLHR)
November 01, 2005
http://www.zlhr.org.zw/media/releases/nov_1_05.htm
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) notes with grave concern the harassment
of lawyers and undermining of the authority of the Zimbabwe Republic
Police by people using their purported association to war veterans
and the ruling party to do the same. On Saturday 29 October 2005
two policemen from Waterfalls Police Station escorted three human
rights defenders (hrds), victims of grievous assault, to Ushewokunze
Cooperative just outside Harare along the Beatrice road in a bid
to have the assailants of the hrds identified and arrested. Two
lawyers from ZLHR accompanied the police and the hrds. The assaults
on the hrds took place on 25 October 2005 between 1600hours and
1900hours at Ushewokunze Cooperative. A group claiming to be war
veterans had on this day abducted and severely assaulted the five
hrds who were peacefully carrying out a research in that area.
Upon arriving
at Ushewokunze Cooperative one of the assailants was immediately
identified as the group leader of the assailants. One of the police
officers approached the suspect in a bid to arrest him. The suspect
did not co-operate with the police. As the suspect acting in collusion
with others present were resisting police efforts to arrest the
suspect, the armed police officers advised the lawyers and the three
victim hrds that under the circumstances any arrest of the suspect
might lead to a violent reaction from the other people present.
The police officers opted to negotiate with the local leadership
for their assistance in arresting the suspect.
While generally
resisting arrest the suspect and colleagues identified the hrds
and threatened them with further assaults in the presence of the
police. After meeting with resistance to their efforts to effect
an arrest of the suspect, the police officers aborted the mission.
Particularly vocal in resisting the arrest of the suspect and exuding
a contemptuous attitude to the police was one Mr. Kunze, who introduced
himself as the ZANU PF secretary general for Harare South.
Among other
things Mr Kunze addressed and tried to incite a crowd of about thirty
people who had now gathered and surrounded the police officers and
the lawyers. He labelled the lawyers and their clients as MDC supporters
sent to cause disturbances in the area especially with elections
coming up and to lie that there had been violence in the area. He
stated that the MDC supporters who had no right to be in their area.
The crowd became hostile towards the lawyers. All this harassment
took place in the presence of the police officers who at this point
could neither arrest the suspect nor protect the lawyers from Mr
Kunze’s open hostility and hate speech.
In light of
the above ZLHR would like to express its concern over the obstruction
of justice by the "leaders" of the Ushewokunze Cooperative,
especially Mr Kunze. In so doing they not only obstructed the course
of justice but undermined and disregarded the authority of the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP). In addition, their harassment of two lawyers
sums up the impunity with which certain groups and individuals in
our society, have violated the rights of others, disregarded court
orders and the authority of the ZRP while hiding under the banner
of being war veterans and associates of the ruling party . ZLHR
calls upon the ZRP to take action against those who severely assaulted
its clients and those who obstructed the two police officers from
arresting them. It is imperative that such action be taken as it
serves to reaffirm the rule of law in Zimbabwe and curds rampant
impunity and further stamps the role of the ZRP as the enforcers
of the law and essential players in the protection and promotion
of human rights.
Visit the ZLHR fact
sheet
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