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State
moves swiftly to protect its agents of human rights crimes
Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR)
May 12, 2009
Today we saw
conflicting headlines in the herald. The Information, Communication
and technology Minister Nelson Chamisa applauded the just ended
stakeholder
media conference held in Kariba under the theme 'Towards
an Open, Tolerant and Responsible Media environment '. He's
quoted as saying that "this is a break from the past, a troubled
mind does not breed a perfect mind. There is an appetite to address
media issues." He hailed Media, information and Publicity
Minister Webster Shamu for 'demonstrating determination to
create a vibrant media in the country'
The same page carried a headline 'Zim Ind journalists arrested',
a story that details yesterday's arrest of Zimbabwe independent
editor Vincent Kahiya and the paper's news editor Constantine
Chimakure for publishing a special feature implicating various security
personnel in the abductions, detentions and torture of MDC and human
rights activists.
We received an alert today of the release of the two journalists
on $200 bail. They were remanded out of custody until the end of
this month (28 March).
They will appear before courts on charges under Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act, in which the state's
case would be that their story in last Friday's edition was
published with intention of undermining public in law enforcement
agents.
The irony however lies in the fact that the law enforcement agents
themselves have lost credibility stemming from their inability to
maintain law and order during the post March 29 elections violence,
their apparent involvement in partisan politics and the violation
of people's rights and freedoms.
In any working democracy, the people who should be arrested and
investigated are the named officers (Assistant Director External
of the CIO Retired general Brigadier Asher Walter Tapfumanei, police
superintendents Reggis Chitekwe, Joel Tendere, detective inspectors
Elliot Muchada and Joshua Muzanango, officer commanding CID Homicide
Crispen Makadenge, chief superintendent Peter Magwenzi and Senior
Assistant Commissioner Simon Nyati. The people would want to know
that these people together with their principal are made to account
for their clandestine activities that undermined the affected political
and human rights prisoners abducted between October and December
2008.
We want to remind the inclusive Government that we are inclined
towards favouring a system that advocates for true justice and restitution
from rights violations especially when the identity of people involved
is known. The government seems keen to protect perpetrators of violence,
politically motivated crimes and rights violations at the expense
of justice. The use of a controversial pieces of repressive legislation
to gag the media from highlighting the truth is indicative of the
vindictive nature of our government. There is need for serious reform
of mind and the repealing of all repressive legislations such as
POSA,
AIPPA,
BSA and Criminal
law (Codification and reform) Act.
The continued harassment of human rights/political activists and
journalists should stop. Shadreck Manyere, a freelance journalist
is still in detention ever since he was abducted by the state in
2008. Like all the prisoners of conscience still in detention and
those recently granted bail, he was severely tortured and a confession
forced out of him that the state uses to build their conspiracy
theories. The first 100 days of the new Government has been marred
by a continued deterioration and decline of people's lives
on both human rights and humanitarian levels.
Visit the ROHR
fact
sheet
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