Alec Muchadehama; Up for any Challenge, an interview

Why did you decide to study law?

When I grew up I wanted to be a medical doctor or an engineer, but when I went to highschool they didnt offer sciences to provide medical or engineering. I was in highschool in 1986 when I visited the local university for an open day.

I saw from the prospectus which studies were offered and how many points you had to score to get in. Law was the one where you needed the most points, so I figured that would be the most challenging. I didnt know anyone who studied law and I didnt know what law was, but I went for the biggest challenge.

And what happened then?

I went to the university and studied law, but I had no clue what I wanted to do when I would be finished. In the 4th year I did a research with respect to whether or not the 1990 elections in Zimbabwe were free and fair. During that research we also got to visit court cases where I saw court officials in action. To me there was one particular character that was quite interesting, it was the public prosecutor; he appeared to be the most active and in control of things, so I said ‘I want to be that guy.’ It was a coincidence that I was about to finish my studies and then saw this guy, so after I graduated I became a public prosecutor myself in 1991.

And was the position of public prosecutor as nice as you expected it to be?

Yes very much. The courtroom is run by the public prosecutor, if you are organized the witnesses, the accused and the magistrator will not have a problem, so you can contribute positively to the judiciary system.

It exposes you to a variety of issues. In terms of going to court, legislation, adminstration, as well as learning how to organize yourself and other people. It teaches you to be self reliant. I went all over the country, and in some remote areas I would be alone. I was able to appear in all courts of the country, and was exposed to the whole criminal system.

After one year as a public prosecutor I went to the Attorney Generals Office. There I would also do reviews, handle applications, and do misconduct enquiries; anything that involved the State. It again exposed me to a lot of issues.

I stayed in the Attorney Generals office for seven years, but in 1997 I was again looking for a challenge. I said ‘I think I want to develop myself.’ At that stage I had appeared in all courts of the country up to the highest level, but there were still many subjects I hadn’t worked on. I wanted to expose myself to some of these subjects, that was the only avenue open to me to challenges.

Prosecution was limiting my exposure, some cases felt repetative, so I joined an established firm in Harare and started a private practice. There I did labour law, criminal law, commercial law, and all kinds of other things I missed in prosecution.

And how did you then get involved in defending human rights activists?

In February 1998 we had the food riots in Zimbabwe, which were started by women who were protesting against the rise in price of bread. During these protests some shops were looted and the state responded by massive arrests, it was a serious crackdown. They arrested anyone who had looted, but also people who were just there. If you were found with a handful of sugar and you did not have a receipt, you were arrested. The cells were literally overflowed.

By chance I represented one of the people who was arrested, it was a lady who had been detained. I went to the police station to take instructions and I saw the place was overflowing with women who were arrested. There were even pregnant women and women with babies.

I found the woman I was representing was innocent, as were almost all of these women, so I decided to appeal for bail. I then discovered that the police, the Attorney General and the magistrates had sat down and contrived to deny anyone arrested bail, everyone was supposed to be detained.

However I had done my own investigation and still applied for bail. I told the magistrate that I had information that they had already decided that no one was going to get bail. I told him he couldnt do that, as the judicial office is expected to follow the law. It appeared that he panicked and didnt want to be associated with what I said, so he granted bail. I was so happy, I will never forget that day.

It opened a floodcase of bail applications, everyone thought I had performed a miracle. It were no valid arrests, they had simply taken people, abused them, assaulted them, and denied them food. It was the first time I came face to face with the violent state, that was targeting innocent people.

What did this experience do to you?

From that day I never looked back, I was convinced that the state faced a crisis. I decided that I in my own small way would defend those people. Since then, the violations of human rights has not stopped.

After those events the opposition party MDC was formed and the political field became polarized. President Mugabe was staring defeat right in the eye, and he reacted with intimidation and violations of human rights. Since then every election is characterized by a lot of violence, as a way of reacting to a possible defeat. There was violence in 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2008, and now as we see the rhetoric of elecitons, the violence is again flaring up. In all these periods there have been a lot of arrests, in 2000 many MDC people were arrested, in 2002 MDC called for a mass stay away and Tsvangirai was facing treason charges, and in March 2003 there was also a lot of violence.

That was also the first time I was arrested. I was acting as a consultant for a newspaper, explaining the legal side of the Tsvangirai case. A journalist was arrested and I was called to defend him. When I arrived his fingers were broken. They brought in more people, which were harassed and assaulted in my presence.

The wife of the current army general was there with armed soldiers. She asked me what I was doing there and she was very authorative. She came to ask me who I was and all hell broke loose when I said I was a lawyer; she said ‘you are representing them and you want to sell the country!’ I was manhandled under a tree. I thought ‘how can this happen?’ Another lawyer was assaulted physically.

After three hours I was released, the army generals wife said ‘after what they did to you, you can become a refugee, why dont you go?’ They said they could help me get a visa. However, when I was released I went to look for the other lawyers. When I asked the police officers whether there was a lawyer they confirmed. They said they couldnt tell the reason, but said they were ordered by the army general’s wife. The police detained someone on orders of a civilian! The army general’s wife followed what was going on and then became very angry, but I was just not ready to leave my colleague there.

Do you have any idea how many people you represented?

Oh, countless, it were so many.

Which of these cases has had the most impact on you?

The largest number of people I ever defended were the 384 women of NCA, I will never forget that case. They were accused of chanting MDC slogans during an NCA protest march. I said ‘what offence is that?’ They were detained at Warren Park Police Station, some even with their children. The women didnt fit in the cells, so they were put in the open court yard. It was May and very cold, but they were given no clothes.

The police was abusing them, for example by pouring water over them despite the cold. I have never seen such an abuse of women. Innocent souls were kept for two days in the open, with no food, no blankets, and no sanitation. I was horrified, these people were treated worse than animals.

What do you tell colleagues from Europe about Zimbabwe’s judiciary system?

It used to be okay, but it is very slow in the protection of human rights. Once a person goes to court and claims that his or her rights are violated, they refuse to take the case in order to give a strong message. The judiciary is very slow, and they are generally seen as not independent. Some of the judges received farms, and some received money from the Reserve Bank.

You will visit the Netherlands to receive the Lawyers for Lawyers award, what did you think when you heard about it?

I was pleasantly surprised, and at the same time shocked.

Shocked?

Yes, I thought ‘what have I done to deserve an award?’ Especially since this is an international award. In my view, the majority of the clientele that I deal with, are ordinary people from the street. They are the unknown, about whom noone want to write home about. Those are the most important to me, the vulnerable and innocent who are exposed to arrests.

Incidentally, I also came to defend people who some people regard ‘more people than other’, but I don’t think so. I am not worried about those, I am more worried about ‘the ordinary people’. I think the award should be for these people; I want to dedicate the award to the many victims of the violent repression, to the people who survived against all odds.

The fact that lawyers can give them protection is something I want to be associated with, to me there is no greater thrill than to get an innocent ordinary person acquitted or out on bail, preventing false trials, false convictions, and false imprisonments. That is something I will do forever if I have it my way. I don’t accept human rights violations and I dont understand it either, and I hope the perpetrators will also face their day in court.

And is it special to receive an award from colleagues?

Its such an honour, but it frightens me too actually. Lawyers are know for quarreling and arguing, so it means something if there is some consensus of some sort. It is good to know that lawyers in the international community value the work of lawyers here, it is an encouragement for lawyers in Zimbabwe. We always find comfort in their support. Some might not even know where Zimbabwe is. Its quite great, and I am so appreciative. I don’t know if Zimbabwean lawyers know what Lawyers for Lawyers is doing, but I hope this will lead to more interaction between Zimbabwean lawyers, not only in Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, but also worldwide. We lawyers should protect each other.

This has now become my main pre occupation; this is how I, in my own small way, try to help the situation in Zimbabwe. There are so many active lawyers who are doing it, not only here in Zimbabwe, but also in the rest of the world. This award is also an encouragement to all those lawyers, to not give up under whatever circumstances. When it comes to defending human rights defenders, lawyers must remain the last bastion of offence, even at risk of their own arrest or dead. If lawyers run away we have no-one to stand up for the people.

What do you expect from your visit to the Netherlands?

I have been there before, in 2006 after being released from prison Zimbabwe Watch arranged a visit for me. I am now retracing my journey, but on a happier note than before. The Netherlands has done a great deal for this country, especially in the field of human rights. The former deputy ambassador for example was such an excellent personality. She actually gave me refugee when I was being pursued by Central Intelligence Officers. People like her, in a very big way and without realizing, give the people here in Zimbabwe a lot of hope. We might be oppressed here, but there are people who care, and with all the good intentions.

The new Dutch Government is cutting in its development assistance, this might also have implications for the Dutch presence in Zimbabwe, how do you feel about this?

That would be most unfortunate. In terms of supporting civil society they have done a lot, people here know what I am talking about. The Dutch Embassy and Dutch organizations, like the members of Zimbabwe Watch, are knowledgeable about what happens in this country and their programs have been very effective. The fact that they are being targeted in some of the state media, actually means that you are doing the right thing. If some of these programs would have to be stopped that would be very unfortunate.

What can organizations such as Zimbabwe Watch mean for human rights defenders in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe Watch should lobby on human rights, and alert the international community when something happens here. They should monitor cases and report them, as a defense mechanism for the vulnerable in Zimabwean society. They could also engage with the police and the Attorney Generals Office to demand explanations.

Further, they should work with progressive civil society forces in Zimbabwe to bring to the fore issues about human rights, so that the environment here will become better. In my view, there is no one solution, no one individual or organisation that can solve this. It requires a number of people and organizations from in- and outside Zimbabwe.