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Open letter to President Robert Gabriel Mugabe & Amai Joyce Mujuru, Vice President
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
July 29, 2005

Your Excellency,

Re: Enough is enough say Zimbabweans - Heroes Day a time to heal the nation

The launching of Operation Murambatsvina demonstrated irrevocably to us that the "Liberation guns have been turned against us" Women fought alongside men to usher in a new era for the population but our Independence has not done away with all the vestiges of our colonial past. The women of WOZA remember the time of the Zhii Riots in the month of July 1961. We remember them not because of the violence and looting which we condemn, but because it was a time when the Law and Order Maintenance Act (LOMA) took hold and many nationalists faced detention under this unjust law. While Zimbabweans celebrated independence in 1980 with promises for peace and prosperity in a spirit of reconciliation, never could we or our fallen heroes predict that the ghost of LOMA would come back as POSA - the Public Order and Security Act. And that the passing of POSA would help usher in further unjust laws. The legislature should instead have focused on a new constitution and removing remaining colonial. Your Government instead institutionalized a framework of governance that retained the structures, laws, culture and spirit of intolerance used during colonial times.

Through POSA, AIPPA, and the ad hoc amendments to the Constitution your Government have perpetuated the colonial mentality we fought to remove. As we have consulted and discussed, we find that Operation Murambatsvina is proof that we may be an independent nation but are not free from colonial laws which continue to oppress the majority of Zimbabweans. Your Government has failed to reverse the unequal and exploitative nature of capitalism. By continuing to keep these oppressive systems in place your Government has become guardian to a different form of exploitation.

Already socially and economically disadvantaged by a crashing economy, we as Zimbabwean mothers of the nation suffer greatly every hour, every day. We have lost our homes and livelihoods to 'Murambatsvina' and have reached the point of no return. The United Nations estimates that some 700,000 people in cities across the country have lost their homes, their source of livelihood or both. Indirectly, a further 2.4 million people have been affected in varying degrees. Sokwanele, Zvakwana and Enough is enough of unjust laws and systems!

The UN Recommendations must be fulfilled. For us to find the strength to go on believing in the Zimbabwe of our dreams we feel we have the rights to demand the following based on the UN Recommendations:

• Repeal POSA, AIPPA and other unjust laws. Repeal the Regional Town and Country Planning Act 1976 [Chapter 29:12] ("Planning Act"); the Housing Standards Control Act 1972; the Urban Councils Act; and several other municipal bylaws. These laws have trampled upon our freedoms and are divorced from social, economic and cultural realities. By repealing these unjust laws your Government will also set a good example and show willingness to respect the freedoms allowed for under the constitution.
• Adhere to the rule of law and end selective application of all laws seen by arrests and detention of people with alternative views.
• Open up dialogue and consultation with the populace and their civic representatives to help dignify the nation and heal the fabric of society.
• As a further step in re-establishing goodwill with the people of Zimbabwe, announce the names of the architects of Operation Murambatsvina and hold them accountable in an independent court of law for their crimes against Zimbabwean people.
• Stop interfering with the operations of Municipal leaders and systems of operation. Leave elected Mayors alone - they are held accountable through their electorate.
• Stop political interference with the operations of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

As mothers we wish to remind your Government that the UN Report recognized that Zimbabweans have RIGHTS and FREEDOMS and we quote.

"The fundamental right to human dignity, to shelter, to employment, to education and to health care are all entrenched in a variety of international and regional human rights instruments, all of which Zimbabwe is party to. The Government of Zimbabwe has a duty to protect and enforce the economic and social rights of its citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Government of Zimbabwe also has a duty to fulfill its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Zimbabwe ratified on 13th May 1991."

In the Executive summary, the Special Envoy, Ms Tibaijuka found that Operation "was carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering," Once compensation has been paid and the perpetrators brought to book, Zimbabweans may forgive what happened, but as with Gukurahundi, we will not forget and we hope that the UN report will help to remind our grandchildren who may face constitutional challenges in the future. A constitution is only as effective as we, the people, insist that it be fully respected.

We quote from the UN report..

"Although the Zimbabwe Constitution provides protection under Chapter III, Declaration of Rights, Operation Restore Order infringed upon many of these rights. The forced evictions and resultant displacements have rendered thousands of people homeless and thus vulnerable to the violations of a number of other rights. In addition to the violation of the right to adequate housing, other key rights including the right to life, property and freedom of movement have also been violated.

We wish to quote from the bible to stress that this is a time to heal the nation. Ecclesiastes 3:1-7: 'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get and a time to loose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.'

Please take the opportunity Heroes Day will present, to announce that your Government have hear our cries for peace, justice and healing. We will see that our appeal has been heard when your Government repeal all the unjust laws and remove once and for all the remnants of colonialism.

Yours sincerely,

Mothers, Grandmothers and Youth who want a future,

All Members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise

Cc: Honorable Members of Parliament,
Cc Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Attorney General, Chief Justice and Provincial Judges of High Courts, Provincial Magistrates
Cc: Police Commissioner Mr. Augustine Chihuri, Provincial - Deputy Commissioners of Police, Officers Commanding Law and Order

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