Speaking after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at his official Highlands residence in Harare on Tuesday, Kennedy said she and other members of her organisation were in the country to monitor events in the run up to the elections.
“We just had a meeting with the Prime Minister and we are meeting with civil society, government officials and others. We are here for a week and are specifically looking at actions in the run-up to the elections. We are disturbed by the apparent crackdown on civil society over the last several months and we are concerned by the continuation of that,” Kennedy said.
The delegation also includes famed Hollywood actress, Alfre Woodard.
Kennedy was also present at the hearing on Monday when human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, charged with defeating the course of justice, was granted bail on Monday.
Mtetwa, together with four staffers from the Prime Minister’s office have been the latest in a long line of human rights activists to be detained in recent weeks.
The Robert Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights is a leading international human rights organisation.
It was formed to realise Robert F Kennedy’s “dream of a more just and peaceful world” by his family and friends as a living memorial in 1968.
Kennedy started working in the field of human rights in 1981, when she investigated abuses committed by US immigration officials against refugees from El Salvado.
Post published in: News