Little sign GNU keen to end abuses: Forum

Disregard for the rule of law, corruption, intimidation, abuse of political office and the militarisation of both public and private institutions continue to dog Zimbabwe and stifle any meaningful economic recovery.

Civic activity remained under threat as the police violently broke-up peaceful protests and denied civic groups permission to take part in civic activities. This report documents the harassment, arrest, detention and beatings of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) members as they took part in marches to commemorate the United Nations International Refugee Day in Harare and Bulawayo.

Two student leaders were also arrested at Masvingo Polytechnic following a

protest at the campus as the clampdown on the student movement continues. The police are also reported to have denied clearance for a peaceful march of gender activists who intended to advocate for greater womens participation in the constitution making process.

Police stifle civic activity

The police continue to stifle free and peaceful civic activity with brutal attacks on peaceful activists despite the commitment by the parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which incorporates article 18 Security of Persons and Prevention of Violence. (Pictured: Police chief Augustine Chihuri His officers fingered in rights violations)

Journalists have not been spared the wrath of the security forces as they continue to be harassed, arrested and prevented from doing their work. This report documents the arrest and detention of three journalists as they covered the march by members of WOZA in Harare.

Two other journalists employed by the The Worker, a Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) publication, were also arrested, detained and assaulted for covering a protest by Municipal workers in Harare.

Despite winning a landmark ruling against the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) over the legality of the Media and Information Commission (MIC), four free-lance journalists were reportedly barred by security operatives from covering the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit for not being accredited.

The continued harassment and intimidation of media practitioners is a worrying

trend in the country that has prevented the opening up of media space and has limited public access to reliable information.

Army commits violence

Of note in the month of June, is the increase in incidents of violence reportedly perpetrated by members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) against civilians. This report documents attacks on villagers in Mazowe East by members of the ZNA who are alleged to have assaulted them at their homes at night.

It is alarming that some members of the ZNA appear to be a law unto themselves and

continue to harass defenceless civilians. As intimidation and fear continue to grip many parts of rural Zimbabwe, groups of Zanu (PF) youths are still reported to be harassing members and suspected members of the MDC, more than a year after the disputed Presidential Run-Off election.

Retributive attacks on those who sought legal assistance and want redress for crimes committed during the 2008 electoral violence have been reported in some parts of the country. Intimidation of MDC members by state agents has also continued.

This report documents how three MDC members who were part of the group of those abducted between October and December 2008, were forcibly taken from their homes to the Attorney Generals Office. The violence, intimidation and mistrust across the political divide continues against the sentiments of commitment to national healing expressed publicly by the leaders of the three parties to the GPA.

Farm invasions

(Pictured: Zanu (PF) chairman John Nkomo His guards chased away messenger of court at gunpoint). Farm invasions have taken place unabated despite numerous court rulings and calls by the Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for an end to violence on commercial farms earlier in the year.

The continued involvement and implication of some senior government and Zanu (PF) officials in the looting of farming equipment and produce, and in the harassment and displacement of commercial farmers and farm workers is conspicuous, in what can be seen as a clear abuse of office.

This report documents the on-going disturbances in the Chegutu farming area where a senior ZNA officer Brigadier Mujaji has forcibly taken over Karori Farm in contempt of court orders prohibiting him from settling on the farm.

Also documented in this report is the harassment of a Deputy Sheriff who was allegedly chased away from Jijima Lodge as he attempted to evict the Zanu (PF) National Chairman and Minister of State in the Presidents Office for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, John Nkomo.

The corrupt web surrounding the distribution of land in Zimbabwe has entangled some

senior government Ministers and Senators who over the years have allegedly acquired as many as four farms each.

Selected cases of violence and rights abuse

Bulawayo Central

17 June 2009: Seven members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) were arrested as they participated in four simultaneous marches to mark World Refugee Day, commemorated annually on 20 June. One of the protests began outside Bulawayo Central police station and the marchers converged outside the offices of the Chronicle newspaper where they were attacked by armed anti-riot police officers.

The fourth group of protestors did not manage to converge at the offices of the Chronicle as they were intercepted by the police while on their way there. The seven arrested members were released on 19 June 2009 on US$20 bail each after spending two nights in police custody, and remanded out of custody to 3 July 2009.

Harare Central

5 June 2009: Chris Mahove, a journalist with The Worker newspaper which is run by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), was arrested while taking pictures of a protest by Harare City Council employees.

He was taken to Harare Central Police Station where he managed to call his Editor Ben Madzimure, who was also arrested while enquiring about his colleague at the police station. The two were reportedly assaulted while in custody and had material captured during the protest destroyed by the police. Both journalists were released without charge after being detained for several hours.

17 June 2009: Four members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were arrested during a march to commemorate World Refugee Day. The four women were badly assaulted and sustained injuries while in police custody. One woman sustained a broken finger, while two others were on crutches as they were unable to walk unaided. The fourth woman sustained injuries to her ear.

All four women sustained severe deep tissue bruising from beatings. They were released on 19 June on US$10 bail, remanded out of custody to 2 July and ordered to report to the Law and Order section every Friday. They were charged under section 37 (i) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act). Their lawyer applied for and was granted an order for the police to explain the injuries sustained by the four women.

17 June 2009: Three journalists were arrested while covering a peaceful march by WOZA and the subsequent violent break-up of the march by the police. The march was held to commemorate International Refugee Day. They were however released without charge apparently after the police had realized that one of the journalists was employed by the state-run Herald newspaper.

17 June 2009: Members of the anti-riot police seized a female victim and her nine-month old baby during a march by WOZA to mark World Refugee Day. It is alleged that the woman was dragged into a room full of police officers inside Parliament where her baby was un-strapped from her back, and placed on the floor before the police officers took turns to assault her.

She was later taken to Harare Central police station where she was released without charge after WOZA members who were in police custody confirmed that she was not a member of their group.

Nyanga North

20 June 2006: A Nyanga magistrate, Clever Tsikwa was reportedly forced to abandon a case involving 108 MDC supporters due to alleged attempts by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to influence the outcome of the case.

Mazowe East

6 June 2006: The male victim reports that he and his wife were assaulted by members of the ZNA. The soldiers knocked at the victims door at around 22:00hrs and his wife went to the door to enquire who it was. The soldiers then forced themselves into the house and assaulted her with belts.

They also found the male victim in the house and assaulted him with baton sticks and booted feet. He was then forced out of the house where he was hit on the head with an unknown object and cut with a knife on his right

palm. The soldiers left the home after the attack.

6 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by a member of the ZNA and fourteen other people who came to his house at around 22:00hrs. They attacked him after he had opened the door to investigate the source of the noise.

The victim was assaulted with army belts, baton sticks and booted feet while some of the assailants held him down. The attack began after part of the mob had identified him as one of the targets of the attacks they were carrying out in that area. The assailants did not state the reason for the attack. He lost consciousness during the attack and wasresuscitated the following morning.

Guruve South

13 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by three Zanu (PF) supporters on allegations of being an MDC supporter. The three, who are members of the same family, followed him as he was returning home after selling his cotton. They assaulted him with booted feet and open hands. He sustained injuries to his neck and ears.

Mount Darwin North

25 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was attacked by two Zanu (PF) supporters after they had received summons from the victims legal counsel for claims of violations committed during the 2008 electoral period. The victim was coming from the local shopping centre when the two assailants attacked him with an axe.

One of the assailants tried to hit him on the head with the axe but the victim blocked it with his hand resulting in his sustaining a deep cut to his right hand. He managed to flee to his home where he got assistance from his neighbour.

Chinhoyi

2 June 2009: Three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists, Terry Musona, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Fani Tembo, who were abducted in Banket by State security agents in October last year, were reportedly forcefully taken from their homes by three State security agents.

It is alleged that the three were taken to the Attorney-General’s (AG) office in Harare and told that they should testify against other MDC activists who were due to face trial the following week on charges of banditry or they would face unspecified consequences.

One of the victims reports that at the Attorney Generals office he was interrogated in the presence of Mrs Ziyambe and Mr Mutangadura. The three were reportedly released

the following day and instructed to go back to their respective homes and to appear in court for the trial.

Chegutu East

25 June 2009: At Karori Farm, members of the ZNA remained on the farm under instruction from Brigadier Mujaji. They stopped all farm operations for five weeks including maize reaping and tobacco grading.

Three Lorries were sent to the farm to try and load maize for delivery to the Jesuit Provincial Food Programme which had contracted the crop; however all the lorries were prevented from entering the farm and sent back.

The police allegedly refused to intervene or uphold any of the court orders and Charles Lock was allegedly told that the police had been instructed by Police General Headquarters not to render any assistance.

Mr. Lock sought another court order for the eviction of Mujaji and the Messenger of Court was sent to carry out the eviction but was stopped by Mujaji who also tried to have some of the farm workers removed from the farm. The Attorney Generals Office is seeking to prosecute Locks wife on allegations of staying on the land illegally although her husband was earlier acquitted of the same charge.

Earlier in the month, Brigadier Mujaji had again broken into the complex using his soldiers and had taken 100 irrigation pipes belonging to Mr. Lock in addition to the 63 he had taken a week earlier. He tried to force Mr. Locks workers to load and ferry them but they all refused. One Sgt Mukoni then took a tractor and ferried the pipes with the assistance of the other soldiers. The matter was reported to the police but there was no response.

25 June 2009: At Reydon Farm the Chegutu lands officer, Clever Kunonga, is trying to take over the farm for himself. He faces a High Court order barring him from the property; however, he has not adhered to it and as a result also faces contempt of court proceedings.

Mr. Kunonga continues to harass the occupants of the farm and he had eviction notices served on some of the workers, one of whom found himself and his belongings transported off the farm and dumped on the roadside. He was also arrested for trying to resist the eviction.

Umguza

June 2009: Officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police reportedly refused to grant clearance to a ZAPU meeting. Some of the partys supporters reportedly turned up at the venue of the meeting but were chased away by the police.

Matabeleland North

15 June 2009: Armed guards reportedly chased away a Messenger of Court as he attempted to evict the Minister of State in the Presidents office responsible for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, John Nkomo, from Jijima Safari Lodge.

In a letter to the Bulawayo High Court, Deputy Sheriff Peter Thamo Zulu reportedly stated that when he went to Jijima Safari Lodge to serve a court order on Nkomo to

vacate the farm, four armed men he found at the farm chased him away at gunpoint.

The Bulawayo High Court had earlier ordered the Deputy Sheriff to evict the Minister from Jijima Lodge in the Gwayi River Conservancy to pave the way for businessman Langton Masunda, with whom the senior politician has wrangled for years over ownership of the property. Mr. Nkomo filed an urgent court application seeking an order to stop his eviction from the Lodge.