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Police intensify onslaught against NGO's, press charges against GALZ after army premises raid
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
August 23, 2012

Police on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged a representative of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) for running an "unregistered" organisation after a week of high drama in which State security agents twice raided the organisation's offices in Harare's Milton Park suburb.

Detectives at the Law and Order Section at the Harare Central Police Station on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged GALZ which was represented by Martha Tholanah, the organisation's co-chairperson with running an "unregistered" organisation in contravention of Section 6 (iii) of the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act.

The police, who alleged that GALZ had commenced operations in Zimbabwe without registering its operations under the PVO Act, released Tholanah, who had since Tuesday been a regular guest at Harare Central Police Station in the company of his lawyers Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Tonderai Bhatasara, Marufu Mandevere and Jeremiah Bamu from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and advised the GALZ co-chairperson that they would proceed by way of summons.

The move by the police is the latest attack on Non- Governmental Organisations (NGO) by the coalition government, which in recent months has intensified its blitzkrieg against human rights defenders and NGO's ahead of a constitutional referendum and planned general elections.

Last month, two police officers only identified as Sergeant Ndawana and Detective Chipwanya summonsed Abel Chikomo, the executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum to stand trial at the Harare Magistrates Court on 25 July 2012 after charging him with running an "unregistered" organisation in contravention of the PVO Act.

However, the trial did not commence after State prosecutor Innocent Chingarande withdrew summons issued against Chikomo after he advised that the State was not ready to proceed with the matter. It was agreed that should the State intend to proceed with the matter they would have to serve fresh summons on Chikomo to initiate the case.

Meanwhile, an unidentified member of the Zimbabwe National Army on Tuesday 21 August 2012 raided the premises of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), a day after more than 20 police officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police swooped on the organisation's offices in Milton Park suburb, Harare.

A soldier, who was dressed in military attire and was in the company of two plain clothed people visited the GALZ offices on Tuesday afternoon and patrolled the organisation's premises. After failing to find anything of interest to them they went through the caretaker's occurrence book and recorded details of people who had visited the GALZ premises in the past few months, presumably to trail them in future. One of them inadvertently left his mobile phone number, which was recorded by the caretaker.

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