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Arrests
of Trade Unionists and CSO leaders
Zimbawe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR)
November 20, 2003
Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights having been monitoring the events of the arrest of the ZCTU
and civic leaders in Harare and other towns and reports as follows:
Background Information
The Zimbabwe Congress of trade Unions (ZCTU) is the authentic independent
labour movement in Zimbabwe representing the interest of the workers in
Zimbabwe. It is an umbrella body of independent trade unions with a number
of trade unions in various undertakings affiliated to it. It is the strongest
labour union on the land. In 1999 another trade union which has strong
links with the ruling party, the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU)
was registered by the government of Zimbabwe. It has however failed to
win the support of the workers owing to its strong links to the ruling
party and the fact that it is seen as having been formed to counter the
strength of the ZCTU which is still regarded as the only authentic and
legitimate voice of the workers in Zimbabwe.
For some time the
ZCTU has been critical of the government’s failure to address the serious
economic decline that has seen the quality of life in Zimbabwe deteriorate
to levels that have never been experienced in the history of this country.
Inflation is believed to be running at over 600%. The unemployment rate
is between 70 and 80%. There are endemic shortages of basic necessities
such as cash, fuel, foreign, currency, essential food staffs (including
mealie meal and beef). When available the cost of basic foodstuffs is
completely out of reach of the workers. Even professionals such as teachers
find themselves having to spend more than half of their salary on purchasing
bread alone. The HIV/Aids pandemic has taken its toll on the workers with
reported deaths of over 5000 per week. Millions of Zimbabweans have reportedly
left the country to live as refugees or illegal immigrants mainly in South
Africa, Botswana and the United Kingdom. The three countries have now
resultantly tightened entry requirements for Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe remains
one of the most taxed nations in the world with over 30% of peoples’ earnings
spent on taxes. Corruption is now endemic and has become part of the national
culture. 4.5 million people out of the 6 million people facing starvation
in the SADC region are in Zimbabwe. In short life has become unbearable
for the majority of Zimbabweans who happen to be workers. ZCTU’s complaints
were therefore motivated by this state of affairs as well as the absence
of any political will or clear cut government effort to resolve this crisis.
The National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) and civil society leaders under the Crisis Coalition (a
coalition of a number of human rights and civil society organizations
campaigning for a return to democratic rule in Zimbabwe) supported the
ZCTU in its peaceful expression of discontent with the government. Regional
labour movements notably COSATU have supported the ZCTU in its demands
against the government.
The Facts
On 18 November
2003 the ZCTU supported by civil society engaged, as it is entitled to
do as a labour movement in a peaceful expression of discontent at the
failure by the government to deal with the multi layered crisis bedeviling
the country. These activists were said to have gathered at various centres
in the country preparing to march in protest as per their intended plans.
The police arbitrarily arrested and detained leaders of the ZCTU, civil
society leaders and other labour activists who were peacefully assembling
and expressing their unhappiness at the government’s failure to address
the deepening socio-economic political crisis that Zimbabwe is going through.
The arrests were as follows;
- In Harare 58 people
were arrested. These included the ZCTU leadership Lovemore Matombo (President),
Wellington Chibebe (Secretary General) Tabitha Khumalo (V/President/
NCA activist), Mrs Lucia Matibenga (General Council member ZCTU), and
civil society leaders Brian Raftopolous (Crisis Coalition Chair), Dr
John Makumbe (Crisis Coordinator and Chair of Transparency International-Zimbabwe),
Dr Lovemore Madhuku (Chair of NCA), Andrew Moyse (Media Monitoring Project
Zimbabwe), Mike Davies (Chair Harare Combined Ratepayers Association),
Jana Ncube (Chair of Women’s Coalition), Raymond Manjongwe ( The Secretary
General of the Progressive Teachers Union)and Amanda Atwell ( Crisis
Secretariat). The detainees were released by the court after having
languished in detention for two days.
- In Mutare 122 people
were arrested with the ZCTU regional leader a Mr. Mwandipe being part
of them. They were given an option of being detained or paying an admission
of guilt fine for contravening a section of the Miscellaneous Offences
Act (MOA). They chose to pay the fine as a way of buying their freedom.
Due process of the law suffered in the process.
- In Bulawayo about
14 people were arrested including 9 ZCTU activists Gideon Shoko, Adias
Ncube, Henry Vushe, Japhet Ndhlovu, Clever Manjoro, Liberty Nyathi,
Dodoma Mavinde (who was badly beaten by a police dog set against him)
Ian Tembo and Ration Moyo, 2 women from Woman of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
Jenni Williams and Ma Tshabalala, management of some shops Edgars and
Wilsgrove. Jenny Williams and Ma Tshabalala were released on the same
day after being subjected to severe assault. The 9 ZCTU activists were
detained and only released on $5 000.00 bail facing charges of contravening
s17 (1)(a) of POSA.
- In Chinhoyi 5 people
were arrested. These were released on $5000 bail facing charges of contravening
POSA.
Charges
Initially
the detainees in Harare had been charged under section 19(1) (a) of Public
Order and Security Act (POSA). The Office of the Attorney General refused
to prosecute on the charges that had been preferred because the charges
were unsustainable. In a move suggesting ulterior motive and possible
malice the police refused to release the detainees but filed new charges
against 4 members of the ZCTU leadership Lovemore Matombo, Wellington
Chibebe, Lucia Matibenga and Thabita Khumalo under section 26 of POSA
which criminalizes the holding of a demonstration after the regulating
authority has refused permission. The other 54 detainees in Harare were
given an option to pay a fine in terms of a downgraded charge under the
Miscellaneous Offences Act or be further detained. The brave human rights
defenders refused to pay the $5000 fines out of principle as they had
violated no law. As a result they were detained overnight to appear in
court on the 20th of November 2003 for contravening section 7 of the Miscellaneous
Offence Act or alternatively the Road Traffic Act. On 20 November 2003
the police were showing no desire to take the detainees to Court or to
release them. This resulted in lawyers lodging an urgent High Court application
for the detainees to be taken to court or be released. Compelled to bring
the accused to Court, the police yet again changed the charges that the
other 54 detainees were facing and upgraded the charges to violating the
provisions of POSA.
Lack of professionalism
of the police
ZLHR notes
with grave concern conduct which clearly demonstrates lack of professionalism
on the part of the police force as follows;
- Some detainees
were subjected to humiliation, abuse, threats and in some instances
inhuman treatment. For example Lovemore Matombo the president of the
ZCTU alleges that he was forced to seat on a metal coffin and one of
the officers vowed to him that "one of these days you will be carried
in that metal coffin".
- Detainees were
made to routinely seat down and stand up, jump up and down.
- Others were severely
beaten with riot truncheons indiscriminately and police dogs were set
up to bite peaceful people.
- Detainees were
only informed of the reasons of the arrest at the police station if
at all. As for the Harare arrests the police were still not certain
of what charges to prefer even when the application to compel them to
take the accused to court was served.
- The police used
excessive and disproportionate force on unarmed and peaceful civic leaders.
- There is clear
evidence that the police are arresting first and investigating later.
This is why they are not consistent on what charges to prefer essentially
for the same or similar conduct. This is why they also end up having
applications being made against them to compel them to bring detained
persons to court as happened in the Harare case.
- The police have
also abused the MOA to entice detainees to buy their freedom in cases
where essentially the police have illegally detained people. The MOA
is being used as a tool of inducement to the detainees to buy freedom
but also as a tool of defence to the police in the event that they are
sued for wrongful arrest and detention.
The Law
Section
21 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe in the Bill of Rights provides for
the protection of freedom of association and assembly. Section 20 of the
Constitution provides for the right to freedom of expression. Section
13 of the Constitution provides for the right to personal liberty. Section
22 of the Constitution provides for the right to freedom of movement.
Section 18 of the Constitution provides for the right to the protection
of the law. These are fundamental rights, which cannot be derogated from
without adequate legal justification. These rights are also guaranteed
in terms of international covenants that Zimbabwe has signed and ratified
such as The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
Conclusion
Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights therefore calls upon the police to remain professional
in the discharge of their duties. In particular where the police have
been given advice by the Attorney General’s office that a prosecution
is not sustainable at law, ZLHR expects the police to respect the advice
of the government lawyers and to resist any pressure from invisible quarters
with vested interests to pursue personal vendettas or objectives and manipulating
the police force into a weapon of terror in the process. The police must
also forthwith stop the abuse of the MOA to induce detainees to buy their
freedom as this amounts to extorting money from detainees. It is critical
that the police must make a conscious effort to rebuild the public confidence
in the police force which must be at its lowest since independence. Such
a process will not be successful as long as the police force accepts to
be put under undue pressure by manipulative and selfish people to frustrate
enjoyment of universally recognized rights and fundamental freedoms by
the majority of Zimbabweans.
Visit the ZLHR fact
sheet
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