Back to Index

WOZA deliver petition to Minister of Education - beatings and arrests
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
February 25, 2009

Hundreds of members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA) delivered a petition to the new Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart today in Harare. Whilst leaders tried to deliver the petition to the minister, with whom they had an official appointment, riot police indiscriminately beat the peaceful group that were waiting for the minister to come and address them. At least 10 members have been arrested. The full extent of the injuries sustained are not clear but at least one woman is unable to walk and an ambulance has been called for her.

The group of 450 members handing in the petition converged on the Ministry of Education from three different directions. The first group to arrive was immediately set upon by the riot police detail that is based at Parliament. Whilst they were being beaten however, the women appealed to the police reminding them that their children are not going to school either. The police stopped the beatings and the protestors re-grouped outside the Ministry to wait. A police vehicle full of riot police arrived shortly afterwards however and again started to beat the group. They were joined by a second vehicle, again full of riot police who were banging their shields and singing, "today we are going to beat you" as they descended on the group and viciously began to beat them. They later changed their song to "why are your husbands' allowing you to demonstrate?".

As they were driven off towards Harare Central Police Station, the women under arrest were heard to be singing "we want education for our children." More details of their arrest will be given once lawyers had been able to attend to them.

The Minister, who had been delayed by an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, finally arrived to accept the petition of approximately 25,000 signatures. He expressed regret and sorrow that the group who had had an official appointment with him should be beaten and arrested and said that these kinds of incidents were exactly what the MDC was trying to change by joining government. He also stated that he had heard the pleas of Zimbabwean parents and would do everything in his power to ensure that every child goes to school.

The petition and the protest are part of WOZA's Take the Step campaign, designed to encourage Zimbabweans to continue with the civic participation that they demonstrated in March 2008. The signatures on the petition were collected by WOZA members in a door-to-door campaign in recent weeks. The petition text reads as follows: 'Please put our children's education first. I am a parent whose child did not learn well in 2008. There were no teachers, no textbooks, and I cannot pay the new forex fees. Please declare the education system a national disaster and allow all children to repeat 2008 at no cost. Those that do not want to repeat will need help so that the children do not suffer. Please campaign to lure teachers home with dignified salaries, adequate supplies, furniture and equipment in schools.'

More information will be made available as it is received.

News update
25th February 2009 - 6pm

5 WOZA members detained in Harare Central - 9 treated for injuries

Five members, four women and one man, will spend the night in Harare Central Police Station tonight following their arrest this morning whilst trying to hand in a petition to the Minister of Education. Lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have not been allowed access to their clients so the details of what they will be charged with are not known. Food has been allowed in to the group this evening.

Nine members have had to receive treatment for the vicious beatings they received from riot police. All have been discharged however. Most injuries were deep tissue bruising from being beaten with baton sticks - deep welts can be seen on most of those that received treatment. One woman has a fractured toe from where she was stamped on by a booted police officer. The woman for whom the ambulance was called has a serious injury to her knee. She had been trying to protect her seven-month old baby from being beaten and was begging police not to hurt her or her baby. This obviously angered the police who then proceeded to single her out for a more severe beating. She is unable to walk and had to be carried home. Many others received beatings but as police were circling the Ministry continuously, they obviously were not able to make contact with the support team to receive treatment.

More information will be made available tomorrow morning.

News update
26th February - 4pm

5 WOZA members remain in custody in Harare - trial of Williams and Mahlangu postponed to 5 March

The four women and one man arrested in Harare yesterday remain in custody at Harare Central Police Station. The docket has been handed over to the Law and Order department. Although the boss has confirmed receiving the docket, he has not yet assigned an investigating officer. Human rights lawyer, Alec Muchedahama attended this morning and was asked to return at 2pm. At 2pm, no one was able to attend to him. At this time there is no progress on what charges are being proffered and no sign of them being processed to appear in court. The
48 hours allowed by law will expire on Friday at 10:30 am.

Muchedahama briefly saw his clients and they advised him that riot police assaulted them all when they were arrested at the Ministry of Education offices. Members present at the protest also confirm hearing the riot police singing another song, 'tinoda hondo' (we want war).

In the meantime, WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu appeared in Bulawayo Magistrate's Court today. They face charges under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act with disturbing the peace for a 16 October 2008 arrest and under the Miscellaneous Offences Act (which was replaced in 2006) with breaching the peace for a 2004 case. There were remanded out of custody to 5th March 2009.

Defence lawyer, Kossam Ncube, also took the opportunity to file an appeal against the Magistrate's ruling from the 28th January in which she refused to quash the charges against Williams and Mahlangu.

State witnesses, including a high-ranking superintendent, were present and were asked to return on 5th March; the Magistrate taking time to apologise to them for any inconvenience caused.

When the pair appeared on 28 January 2009, the Magistrate had refused to quash charges despite a factual argument from the defence. She has insisted the trial proceed there and then. The defence had asked for time to prepare, and was promptly denied. With no alternative, the defence lawyer had appealed to the High Court to overrule the Magistrate's refusal to allow time to prepare for trial. The Magistrate, on receiving a copy of the appeal, had ruled that the case could not proceed until the High Court ruled on the matter. At the time of the hearing today, no decision had been received by the High Court so it should have been a simple matter of remanding the matter to another date pending a ruling.

It was therefore a total disregard for due process to hear the prosecutor, Lovemore Chifamba state that the trial would begin today. Expressing dismay at the prosecutor's actions, the defence lawyer argued that the Magistrate could not proceed to trial as she would be in effect overruling herself and sitting in appeal of her own ruling of 28 January 2009. Faced with standing by her ruling and remanding the activists to a date months away, she decided to adjourn the court for two hours. Upon her return the state had put a second prosecutor, Mr Moyo at the bar. The Magistrate then mumbled that in light of the submissions, she would postpone the matter by one week.

During the adjournment, the defence lawyer was summoned to see the Attorney General's representative, Mrs Cheda, who attempted to put pressure on the lawyer to participate in 'fast tracking' the appeal to the High Court so that the trial could go ahead. The fact that this was presupposing any ruling would go the way of the state was lost on them in their haste to take Williams and Mahlangu to trial. The lawyer declined to be put under pressure.

The farce parading as 'justice' continues on 5th March 2009 and could result in the High Court being forced to fast track this case over other backlogged cases and the trial being forced through. WOZA has a case from 2004 still waiting for a ruling in the High Court.

It should not be overlooked that Williams and Mahlangu were peacefully demanding that the food emergency be declared a national disaster and the Attorney General's Office's enthusiasm for fast-tracking trials would be more appropriate for those cases which have been pending for years and in which the accused persons are in custody, as the state has no money to feed them.

News update
2nd March - 4pm

5 WOZA activists released on US $50 bail after 6 days in custody

The four women and one man arrested in Harare on Wednesday finally appeared in Harare Magistrate's Court this morning on charges under Section 37 (1) (a) (i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act - "disturbing the peace, security or order of the public". They were released on bail of US $50 each by Magistrate Olivia Mariga and remanded out of custody to 19th March. They also have to report to their nearest police station every Friday. The state prosecutor also tried to insist on an early trial but the docket was not ready. They were brought to court by law and order officer, Phiri.

The investigating officer Detective Sergeant Kahora is the man responsible for ensuring that the group were unlawfully detained, spending six days in custody, well over the 48-hours allowed for by law.

WOZA would like to salute the courage and determination of these parents in enduring beatings, arrest and detention in horrific conditions to ensure that their concerns about their children's education were brought to the attention of the Minister of Education. The extended and unlawful detention, the extortionate bail demanded and the reporting conditions imposed also show that the inception of an unity government has done nothing to change the way democracy and social justice activists are treated by a hostile and repressive state.

Visit the WOZA 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