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IDHAE INFORMATION
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On
14 February 2006 Tafadzwa Mugabe (a lawyer in the Public Interest Litigation
Unit at Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights) was arrested when he responded to
a distress call from his clients, members of pressure group, Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), who had been arrested in Harare city centre. The women
had been engaging in a peaceful protest against the declining economic and
social conditions in Zimbabwe. Currently 191 women, including many elderly
and at least 5 babies and infants, remain detained at Harare Central police
station. A
female police detective from the Law and Order section at Harare Central
police station, who refused to identify herself, ordered Tafadzwa’s arrest,
on the basis that he had breached the law by consulting with his clients in
the street. This is clearly unlawful and unprocedural behaviour. Tafadzwa was
further subjected to physical attacks and verbal abuse, and was at one point
handcuffed in the presence of several lawyers and his clients. Tafadzwa
was detained at the Law and Order section, where he was subjected to
interrogation by the Officer in Charge, Law and Order, Detective Inspector
Mavunda, the unidentified female police detail and another unidentified male
police detective. His lawyers (Beatrice Mtetwa and Irene Petras) were removed
from D/I Mavunda’s office when they insisted on being present during such
interrogation, in contravention of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act and
the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Following
the filing of an Urgent Application for Tafadzwa’s release, the individuals
above denied responsibility for the unlawful arrest and detention, and
referred the lawyers to Superintendent Tenderere, the Officer Commanding
Harare Central District, who was present during the arrest of the WOZA women
and Tafadzwa, and supervised their transportation to Harare Central police
station. He, too, denied responsibility for Tafadzwa’s arrest and detention.
Tafadzwa was eventually released without charge at around 19h00 the same
evening. Whilst
the lawyers were attempting to secure his release, they were subjected to
sexist verbal abuse and harassment by Superintendent Tenderere and other
unidentified uniformed police officers, including two uniformed municipal
policemen from the City of Harare. The
developments in this matter are a further indication of the restrictive
operating environment facing human rights defenders (hrds) in Zimbabwe today,
as well as the lack of respect for members of the legal profession who are
attempting to carry out their professional duties and protect the rights of
their clients. Law enforcement agents continue to flout the law and act
against such hrds with complete impunity, sanctioned in their unlawful
conduct by their superiors, who seem regrettably to lead by example. ZLHR calls on the Commissioner of
Police to publicly distance himself and his office from such conduct, and
ensure that such errant behaviour by his officers is investigated and the
perpetrators punished accordingly in order to reaffirm the commitment of his
office to the rule of law and respect for officers of the court carrying out
their professional duties. Further, we call upon the City of Harare to
investigate the involvement of municipal police in such unlawful activities,
and publicly explain to the residents of Zimbabwe why City of Harare
resources (human and material) are being unlawfully and unprocedurally
diverted to the Zimbabwe Republic Police and utilised in the repression of
human rights defenders exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of
expression, assembly and association. You can also of the Law Society
of England and Wales. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
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