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Police arrest WOZA leaders as Magistrate grants bail to 83 members
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
September 22, 2010

Police on Wednesday 22 September, 2010 arrested Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) National Coordinator Jenni Williams after accusing her of unlawfully addressing several of her group's members moments after their release on bail.

Police arrested and detained Williams at a post located at the Rotten Row Magistrates Court and accused her of addressing WOZA and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MEZA) members, when in fact she was trying to ascertain the medical needs of her members who had endured two nights in the filthy cells at Harare Central Police Station.

Williams was released without any charge preferred against her after being detained for more than two hours.

The WOZA and MEZA members were arrested on Monday 20 September, 2010 after they marched to Parliament in Harare to highlight concerns around community safety and unprofessional police conduct.

Meanwhile, Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi on 22 September 2010 granted free bail to 83 WOZA members, who endured two nights in police cells at Harare Central Police Station since their arrest on Monday 20 September, 2010.

Magistrate Mutevedzi granted the WOZA and MEZA members bail after their lawyer Charles Kwaramba applied for their admission to free bail. State prosecutor Tapiwa Kusema had proposed that the WOZA and MEZA members should each deposit $50 in bail money and report once every week at Harare Central Police Station.

But Magistrate Mutevedzi, who remanded the WOZA and MEZA members to 6 October, 2010 dismissed the State's application and only ordered them to reside at their given residential addresses and not to interfere with State witnesses and investigations

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