Lawyers representing two Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) employees, who were arrested by the police on Monday 23 May 2011 for allegedly convening a workshop on the use of torture and its effects have finally located them at a police station in Lupane, Matabeleland North province.
The lawyers Charles Moyo of Moyo and Nyoni Legal Practitioners, who is a member lawyer of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and Lizwe Jamela, ZLHRs regional coordinator for Matabeleland and Midlands provinces located Florence Ndlovu, the ZimRights regional coordinator for Matabeleland province and Walter Dube, the organisations paralegal officer for Matabeleland, Midlands and Masvingo provinces on Thursday 26 May 2011.
Although police at Nyamandlovu Police Station had denied holding Ndlovu and Dube in their cells since Monday 23 May 2011, the ZimRights employees told their lawyers that they had been in detention since Monday at the police station where the lawyers were denied access to their clients for three days.
Ndlovu and Dube were only moved to Lupane Police Station on Wednesday where Ndlovu was charged with contravening Section 31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly communicating false statements prejudicial to the State.
The police allege that Ndlovu told villagers who had gathered at Tshino Business Centre in Tsholotsho District that the police torture and assault people. However, the ZimRights regional coordinator denied the allegations in her warned and cautioned statement which was recorded in the presence of her lawyers and indicated that she only spoke about examples and scenarios of torture.
The police preferred no charges against Dube whom they released on summons pending further investigations.
The lawyers also recovered the vehicle which the ZimRights officials were using which had been impounded by the police upon their arrest on Monday.
Post published in: Politics