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ZCTU Secretary General assaulted and detained by police
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
August 16, 2006

The Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Wellington Chibebe was arrested at a roadblock and detained at Waterfalls Police station yesterday.(15/08/06)

Chibebe was coming to Harare from Masvingo with his family when he was stopped at a roadblock near Waterfalls. The Police wanted to search his car supposedly to look for cash, but Chibebe informed them that what they were doing was illegal. (The Zimbabwe lawyers for Human Rights are preparing a challenge on the searching a confiscation of money from Zimbabweans by police at roadblocks.)

The police did not take kindly to Chibbe's words and one Policeman tried to forcible remove him from his car while his seat belt was still buckled on. The Policeman then vigourously clapped Chibebe twice and accusing him of resisting to be searched. All this was done in front of Chibebe's family.

The police then arrested Chibebe and took him to Waterfalls police station where they then charged him with common assault for allegegly assualting a Policeman when in fact he is the one who was assaulted.

The ZCTU lawyer who attended to Chibebe informed us that the police deliberately changed the charges to common assault so as to make the issue more serious since it was Chibebe.

Chibebe is still being held up at Waterfalls Police station and is yet to go to court.

The ZCTU condemns this arbitrary arrest and the barbaric action by the Zimbabwe Republic police especially as it comes when Zimbabweans are commemorating hereos day. This is not the freedom Zimbabweans envisaged when they sacrificed their lives in the liberation struggle.

Visit the ZCTU fact sheet

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