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Torture public meeting in Makokoba
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
September 03, 2010

More than one hundred people gathered at Stanley Hall in Bulawayo, for a torture awareness public meeting.

The meeting sought to bring out the need for the government to acknowledge the existence of torture in Zimbabwe and finding ways to curb the practice. Participants highlighted that, while Zimbabwe is a signatory to a number of conventions, it still has not ratified the UN convention against torture. This is a cause for concern as some participants pointed out that this is a deliberate ploy by the government to perpetuate torture activities.

Amongst the participants were torture survivors who stated that even the police continue to torture them when effecting arrests. One incident is that of a lady who was arrested at a shabeen and was locked up in the cells. Whilst she was in the cells, she asked to visit the loo and was told to urinate on the floor, which she did and was ordered to use her own clothes to wipe the urine off the floor. Another woman, who was pregnant during the Murambatsvina period, witnessed the demolition of her house and suffered a miscarriage due to the emotional turmoil caused by the chaos. In addition, participants revealed that the police themselves have become perpetrators as they are also seen promoting torture. There is urgent need to ensure that issues of torture are included in the constitution, so that everyone realises that it is illegal and perpetrators must be arrested.

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