|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Index of articles on enforced disappearances in Zimbabwe
Jestina
Mukoko left to sleep in leg irons - Abductees weekly update - Week
ending 23 Jan 2009
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
January 27, 2009
19 January
2009
An application
(similar to that in respect of Jestina Mukoko) is made in the Magistrates'
Court for referral of certain constitutional issues to the Constitutional
Court on behalf of Broderick Takawira and Audrey Zimbudzana. The
magistrate indicates that he will hand down his ruling the following
day.
20 January
2009
On Tuesday 20
January 2009 authorities at Chikurubi Maximum Prison allowed Jestina
Mukoko to be attended to by a private medical doctor at the Avenues
Clinic.
During the examination
Dr Gwatidzo diagnosed that Jestina was hyper-tensive and her blood
sugar was too high.
The doctor also
organized for x-rays and an ultra sound scan to establish the extent
of damage that had been caused by the torture on Jestina's
feet. During the x-rays Jestina was still in leg irons.
Dr Gwatidzo
explained that he needed to monitor her for a few days and that
she was supposed to be checked on every 4 hours due to the fact
that she was hyper tensive. However, prison officials refused and
Jestina was taken back to Chikurubi, where she has since been admitted
at the prison hospital. The admission is against her will and her
doctors' recommendations that she be admitted at a hospital
that is fully equipped.
At Chikurubi
Hospital Jestina is being attended to by a one Dr Dobby who examined
her again and confirmed that she was indeed hyper tensive and she
needed to be monitored and this could not be done when she was in
the cells. Dr Dobby then recommended that she be admitted at the
prison hospital. The prison hospital is a pre dominantly male facility
and there are no facilities for women. Although the matron indicated
that she could not be admitted at a male facility the doctor insisted
resulting in a matron's office being converted into a ward.
The doctor is regularly monitoring her blood pressure.
During the evening
of 21 January 2009, Jestina slept with leg irons on and only managed
to get them removed when the prison officers changed shifts at round
22:00 hours, after she had complained about the discomfort to the
attending prison officers who indicated that it was not normal practice
to leave a prisoner with leg irons even when they are in hospital
and especially while they are sleeping.
Jestina has
since been put on medication, which includes, Hyper tension drugs
HCT and Federan.
21 January
2009
High Court Judge
Justice November Muchiya orders Clerk of Court to issue a warrant
of liberation in respect of Tawanda Bvumo. Muchiya tells State lawyers
that if they want to charge Bvumo they should proceed by way of
summons.
23
January 2009
Harare Magistrate
Gloria Takundwa on 23 January postponed to 26 January 2009 the case
against freelance photojournalist Anderson Shadreck Manyere who
is being charged with alleged acts of banditry in contravention
of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The case was postponed after
Manyere and his co-accused failed to turn up in court as expected.
The reasons for their failure to appear in court could not be immediately
ascertained.
High Court Judge
Justice Yunus Omerjee grants bail to Bindura Mayor Daniso Wakatama
and Tongai Jeki who were accused of making threatening calls to
police officers, investigating the assassination attempt on Airforce
of Zimbabwe Commander Perence Shiri.
Tawanda Bvumo
is finally released from prison around 2:PM in compliance with High
Court Judge Justice November Muchiya's order of Wednesday
21 January 2009.
Visit the ZLHR
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
|
