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Ongoing arrests of presiding officers
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
April 30, 2008

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) notes with great concern the continuing arrests and detention of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) presiding officers, almost all of whom are teachers. The Zimbabwe education system has in recent years been severely undermined by the shortage of resources, brain drain and harsh economic conditions. This is now being exacerbated by the attacks on teachers seconded to ZEC.

ZLHR is greatly concerned that some schools will not be fully functional due to the recent and ongoing arrests of some of the teaching staff. Schools opened on 29 April 2008. The existing severe shortage of teachers has been exacerbated by arrests of ZEC presiding officers who are employed as teachers and headmasters and headmistresses across the country. These arrests have been actuated after some insignificant anomalies were discovered during the ongoing recounts and which can easily be attributed to human error.

The majority of these presiding officers are being charged with criminal abuse of duty as public officers, fraud, or violation of the Electoral Act by allegedly willfully failing to conduct their duties during the harmonized elections. All detainees represented by ZLHR members have denied the charges against them.

Currently at least 7 presiding officers are detained in custody at Bikita police station. Seven (7) were arrested in Zaka, 22 presiding officers appeared at Chipinge court, while 1 presiding officer was detained at Murambinda police station. At least 50 presiding officers have been arrested in Masvingo since 21 April 2008, some of whom have been arraigned before the Masvingo Magistrates' Court. At least 7 presiding officers who are headmasters at some schools in Masvingo province continue to be incarcerated in custody. Although they had been granted bail by the magistrate on 24 April 2008, the prosecutor invoked the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act and appealed against the bail decision to ensure that the headmasters were not released pending the hearing of the appeal as is provided for in the Act. These figures are additional to the original 34 cases which ZLHR previously reported upon.

The right to education is enshrined in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Zimbabwe has voluntarily acceded. The state, through its persecution of ZEC officers, is in willful violation of its international obligations.

ZLHR urges the government of Zimbabwe to ensure that human resources, especially teachers in their capacity as human rights defenders who advance the right to education, are not subjected to any form of harassment, or arbitrary arrests that negatively impact on their ability to perform their duties diligently.

ZLHR sees these arrests as persecution of human rights defenders, and as an attempt to ensure that, in the event of a presidential run-off, such officers will refuse to participate, thus allowing the state to justify its use of law enforcement agents, intelligence officers, war veterans and graduates of the National Youth Service to manage the electoral process to benefit one presidential candidate to whom they owe their political and human survival.

In addition, ZLHR warns police, soldiers, intelligence officers, as well as other non-state actors acting with the acquiescence of the state, involved in the arrest, detention and interrogation of the affected ZEC officers that their actions constitute an unconstitutional interference with the independence and integrity of the national elections management body, for which identified perpetrators will face individual criminal responsibility under national and international law. As such, they should moderate their behavior accordingly, or be willing to face the legal consequences.

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