|
Back to Index
Letter
of protest on the Radio Voice of the People trial
Radio Voice of the People (VOP)
June 15, 2006
VOP is asking
for your support with this action. One very practical way to provide
immediate support that is much needed in the current period is to
add your voices to the letters of protest being sent to various
government representatives in Zimbabwe in the context of the VOP
case which comes to trial today, Thursday 15 June, 2006 at the Harare
Magistrate's court in Rotten Row. The VOP Board and staff members
are represented by our Lawyer Ms Beatrice Mtetwa. The addresses
are below.
We write to
you concerning the case of Radio Voice of the People, a lawfully
registered Zimbabwean communications trust, holding a Trust Deed
issues by the High Court of Zimbabwe in 2000.
We are informed
that at around 16h00 on 15 December 2005 officers of the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) representing the Law and Order Section of
the Harare Central Police Station’s Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) raided the offices of VOP. The officers were led by DETECTIVE
ASSISTANT MUKWAIRA and DETECTIVE INSPECTOR MANGWIRO,
and were acting on the instructions of a SUPERINTENDENT TAVAZIVA.
They were accompanied by about nine other unidentified police
details,
They had a search
warrant for the search and seizure of "radio broadcasting communication
equipment and its associated accessories to include: computer hardware,
software and any documents related to the activities of the radio
station.". They seized from the VOP offices located in Harare's
Central Business District computers and documents. The current whereabouts
of this property which belongs to VOP is unknown.
In addition
to the raid, the police arrested three female members of staff,
namely MARIA NYANYIWA, NYASHA BOSHA and KUNDAI
MUGWANDA. They were detained without charge for four days. The three
women were only released from policy custody without charge
after the office of the Attorney General declined to prosecute them.
We understand that the arrest of the three women was meant to
serve as "bait" to entice VOP’s director JOHN MASUKU to
present himself at the police station.
On the 19th
of December 2005, John Masuku and David Masunda, the Chairperson
of the VOP reported to the police station in the company of their
lawyers Tafadzwa Mugabe and Rangu Nyamurundira OF z Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Masunda was not detained, however
Masuku was detained for four days only to appear in court on the
23rd of December 2005, to answer to charges of contravening
Section 27 of the Broadcasting Services Act. Masuku is currently
out of custody on a ZW$ 4 million bail and has been periodically
reporting to the Law and Order Section of Harare Central Police
Station. During that same period the Detective Inspector Mavunda
indicated the intention of the police to interrogate the Board of
Trustees of VOP.
In the early
hours of the morning of 18 January 2006 two police
officers and one soldier visited the home of VOP Trustee Arnold
Tsunga’s in the city of Mutare. Apparently they were looking for
Arnold, after being informed of his absence they then requested
that his workers, a female maid and a male gardener accompany them
to the police station. They were released after the intervention
of lawyers without any charges being preferred against them.
On 21 Saturday
2006 police from the Law and Order Section proceeded to arrest
Anesu Kamba, a driver at ZLHR, and Charles Nyamufukudzwa,
a caretaker, for allegedly obstructing investigations when
the two professed ignorance about the whereabouts of Arnold Tsunga.
The police proceeded to search Tsunga’s home , taking with them
a portrait of Arnold, which they unlawfully removed without explanation.
Another set
of police officers had visited the house of NHANHLA NGWENYA,
another trustee of VOP and had threatened to take away some of his
properties as ransom. Lawyers immediately attended to Nhlanhla’s
house where two uniformed police details were stationed. They indicated
their intention to interrogate Nhlanhla on some allegations related
to his position as a trustee of VOP. The entire board of VOP consists
of Arnold Tsunga, Lawrence Chibwe (a senior legal practitioner),
Nhanhla NGWENYA (a journalist), Isabella Matambanadzo (a journalist
and women’s rights activists) , David Masunda (a journalist), and
MILLIE PHIRI (Former Editor of the national news agency ZIANA).
During their
arrest, the VOP Trustees were informed by the arresting officers
that their case was at the direction of officials within a structure
known as the Joint Operations Command (JOC) and that there were
instructions for their incarceration.
It is in these
circumstances that the ten associates of Radio Voice of the People
will appear before the Harare Magistrates Court to answer charges
relating to their alleged breech of Broadcasting laws in Zimbabwe.
The circumstances
surrounding their arrests, the unprofessional conduct of the police
and the deficiencies in the charge and its issuance lead us to conclude
that the representatives of VOP are being deliberately persecuted
for seeking to enjoy their rights to Freedom of Expression and freedom
of the airwaves, as articulated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory.
Further, the
lack of a conclusive resolution of investigations into the bombing
of VOP’s former offices in Harare on 29 August 2002 indicate to
us that there are forces in Zimbabwe deliberately intent on silencing
the voices and demands for free and fair airwaves. Our concern for
the safety of the representatives of VOP comes in the context of
recent attempts at jamming the signal that carries the VOP frequency
in the southern African region.
We are further
concerned by remarks attributed to the Minister of State Security
Didymus Mutasa in The Manica Post. He is quoted as saying that government
"will not sit on its laurels" and watch a "crop of journalists"
sell "the country to the enemy by writing falsehoods" with the "intention"
of "undermining national security" and "agitating violence in the
country" He warned that although the journalists were using pseudonyms
in reporting for "pirate radios, websites and other media", government
had "since identified them from their closets" and that the "net
will soon close in on all those who are involved in these illegal
activities".
We urge you
to ensure that the government of Zimbabwe takes very clear steps
to:
- Promote
and protect freedoms and rights to information and expression
rather than actively impede their enjoyment and attainment
- Repeal,
as has been recommended by the African Commission on Human and
People’s Rights, legislation such as the Broadcasting
Services Act, the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public
Order and Security Act which deny citizens the enjoyment of
their rights to information and the media.
- Cease
unwarranted intrusions into the operations of independent media
organizations.
- Desist
from needless and unreasonable interrogation, arrest and persecution
of people associated with the lawfully registered entity known
as Radio Voice of the People personnel and trustees.
- Ensure
the respect and protection of the right to liberty and security
of person of media practitioners in Zimbabwe.
- Stop
threatening, intimidating, and harassing legal practitioners in
the course of their duties
Send your protest
letters to:
1. Mr. Augustine
Chihuri, Commissioner of Police, Police Headquarters, Harare. Fax:
+263-4-253212
2. Mr. Tichaona
Jokonya, Minister of Information and Publicity, Harare. Fax: +236-4-706891-3
3. Mr. Patrick
Chinamasa, Minster of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
Fax: 263-4-772999
4. Mr. Sobusa
Gula Ndebele, Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney- Harare,
Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47
5. Mrs. Chanetsa,
Office of the Ombudsman Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19
6. Mr. Kembo
Mohadi, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 726 716
7. Madam Pansy
Tlakula, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in Africa,
African Commission in Human and People's Rights. P. O. Box 29456,
Sandringham 2131 South Africa Tel.: (220) 12 248 5516 Fax: (220)
12 428 5592 E-mail: tlakulap@elections.org.za
Visit the VOP
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
|
