Back to Index

Journalists released without charges
MISA-Zimbabwe
October 07, 2004

Photo-journalists Tsvangirai Mukwazhi, Desmond Kwande and Howard Burditt, were released without charges on 6 October 2004 after spending a night in police cells following their arrest on Tuesday while covering a demonstration outside Parliament Buildings in Harare.

The three were released just after 5pm following their arrest during a demonstration by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) pressure group who were protesting against the Non-Governmental Organisations Bill.

According to the privately-owned Daily Mirror, Kwande said the police accused them of being part of the organisers of the demonstration.

He said they had not been harassed or assaulted during their detention although they witnessed some of their cellmates being assaulted with booted feet by the police.

Mukwazhi is a freelance photo-journalist while Burditt works for Reuters.

The 52 female activists who were arrested together with the photo-journalists, were still being held at Harare Central Police Station and are expected to appear in court today.

The Bill which was tabled before Parliament for the first reading before being referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee, seeks to ban foreign funding for Ngos involved in human rights and governance issues.

Visit the MISA -Zimbabwe fact sheet

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