Back to Index

Zimbabwe: President Mugabe urged to release top trade union leaders from jail
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
August 06, 2004

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991220457&Language=EN

Brussels - The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) today demanded that Zimbabwe authorities immediately release four trade union leaders, held since yesterday (5 August 2004) under public security charges after being arrested during a trade union workshop in the central city of Gweru. Together with its Nairobi-based African regional Organisation (ICFTU-AFRO), the ICFTU also demanded that the charges be dropped.

The four leaders of the ICFTU-affiliated Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Wellington Chibebe, Secretary General, Lucia Matibenga, Vice President, Sam Machinda, Central Region Vice Chairperson and Timothy Kondo, Advocacy Coordinator, were held under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) Section 19, Subsection 1B on conducting a riot, or instigating disorder or intolerance. The POSA, enacted by President Mugabe in 2002, makes it illegal to hold political gatherings without police approval, and is regularly used against ZCTU leaders and members.

The ZCTU leaders were attending a union workshop devoted to the impact of high taxation levels on workers, HIV-AIDS, the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), as well as to the outcome of this year's session of the International Labour Conference, the annual meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). During the ILO Conference, held in Geneva last June, senior Zimbabwe diplomats had launched violent verbal attacks against the ZCTU and its Secretary General, Wellington Chibebe.

According to the ZCTU, its leaders were initially accused of holding the workshop without police clearance but charges were changed later during the day. The organisation said trade unions are among organisations which are exempted from seeking police clearance when holding meetings, in accordance with section 46(j) of POSA. The four leaders were fingerprinted after their arrest.

The ZCTU added that "the police action was a deliberate attack on the rule of law they are supposed to protect". In its protest message to President Mugabe the ICFTU echoed calls by ICFTU-AFRO, urging him to order that authorities drop charges for demonstrating against high level of taxes brought on 18 November 2003 against Mr Gideon Shoko, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Railwaymen's Union (ZARU) and eight other activists from Bulawayo be dropped. The nine unionists were summoned to answer the charges in a Bulawayo court today, 6th August.

The ICFTU represents 151 million workers through its 233 affiliated national trade union centres in 152 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on
+32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 621 018.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP