FIVE hundred members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) marched in two separate processions to Parliament at noon on 27th November 2012. This protest is the launch of the WOZA 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence under the international theme: From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence against Women! But WOZA will use a shortened version – PEACE NOW!

The protest groups merged 5 meters from Parliament entrance and closed the distance between them and a squad of Riot police manning the entrance door into Parliament. As the activists arrived, Police immediately tried to send them away from the door but the determined human rights defenders began their protest program. The program included the singing of a Shona language song and kneeling in prayer.

WOZA National coordinator Jenni Williams then went to the entrance to deliver the Woza Moya Newsletter containing the 16 Days demands. Two ‘shivering with fear’ parliamentary officers managed to take the document before being shoved out of the way by glaring intelligence officers. The intelligence officers attempted to ensure Williams only spoke with them. As this engagement happened Williams was roughly pulled by the arm from the back by a suited man who seemed to be a parliamentarian intent on violence, he pulled Williams out the way to get into the chamber.

Seven members then made short speeches outlining the demands.  A male member chanting a WOZA slogan ‘you strike a woman and you strike a rock’ to the amusement of male bystanders, spoke of the need to remove the Zanu PF militia who are now manning boreholes and politicizing the distribution of water.

The protest programme was then closed with more slogans. Journalists who were in attendance then began to ask questions of Williams and other participants and a mini press conference ensured. Impatient Riot Police took exception to this and became loud in their attempts to disperse Williams and the journalists.
Many members of parliament were seen looking through the windows and smiling their encouragement. WOZA pray that they took time to read the list of demands contained in the Woza Moya newsletter.

No members were beaten or arrested during the protest and apart from over zealousness on the part of some junior officers who threatened to beat members at the back of the protest, police behaved with restraint.

WOZA members demand a strong Declaration of Rights a.    Equality – right to equality on basis of gender – women to have equal access to jobs and employment, equal pay, to acquire land and inherit property. b.    Right to education – free but quality primary and affordable secondary education and access to vocational education. As a way to correct the injustice of the past 10 years of prioritising defence over education we demand this right be fully justiciable. c.    Right to protest and assemble freely (section 4:16) and the police to respect this right and to protest without clearance. d.    The Right to personal liberty and right to be informed of the reason for arrest.  We want the right to free and safe streets and personal security. e.    Affordable and quality health care. f.    Clean water, sanitation, clean environment. g.    There should be a better provision for children’s rights and expansion in the bill of rights including social economic political and cultural rights. For example the right to earn a living (protection of informal sector). h.    Labour rights – the right to strike, safety, non-discrimination in employment on ethnic basis

WOZA members general DEMANDS
1.    A Ministry of Women’s Affairs to promote affirmative action
2.    There must be separation of powers and members feel that devolution will help promote total people participation in how they want to be governed.
3.    Members said the executive must not interfere with the judiciary and must let the judiciary be independent and for justice to prevail in the country.
4.    Members said they want the rule of law to be protected and promoted in the new constitution.
5.    Members want to see a change in the police force behaviour and in the way they do their job. They believe that the presidential appointment method is the root cause for politicisation of the security sector.
6.    Members want equal representation of women in all elected institutions and commissions.
7.    Strong Human Rights Commission that will fully recognise and protect all human rights ensuring that all cases of human rights are dealt with.
8.    National Peace commission for transitional justice which will provide for restitution from perpetrators for Gukurahundi crimes and those victims will be compensated.
9.    Culture Commission to promote traditional culture that respects human rights
10.    Development Commission to identify disadvantaged and provide affirmative action
11.    Independent Land Commission for distribution of land ensuring that women benefit the most as they are serious farmers.
12.    A strong Provincial and Local Government. Members want a devolved system of government and that can effectively administer devolution for development within its region and ensure natural resources develop their immediate community. Members said they want devolution of powers ‘high and low’ but are prepared to accept a start toward this system and develop it by amendments to the constitution. They do not accept Zanu PF’s version – decentralisation as it has already been in place and has not resulted in shared and devolved decision making.

a.    Members said they want policy change. They want to elect their provincial governors as a principle of democracy.   b.    Members want a Local authority that has the power to control natural resources and make all development decisions.  c.    Fair distribution of revenues between centre and provinces.

WOMEN of Zimbabwe Arise members numbering 150 made it to the steps of the City Hall Mayors office but senior ranking police officers blocked their access to engage the Mayor and the Mayor did not attend to address the aggrieved members, his voters. This was the third day of protest bemoaning the Bulawayo water woes.

Four of the five protests were disrupted at the start of their march by police officers who grabbed their banners and placards and threatened to beat the members.

The 3 days series of protests followed meetings with council officials in their suburban offices. Since 1st November, over 800 members conducted deputations or sent delegations to council officers to lodge complaints about water problems. Officials at most of these centres referred members to Council officers in Tower block where technical staff work and to the Mayor at City Hall.   As a result the Monday protest was to Council Tower block, Tuesday to the Government complex where the Ministry of Water is housed and then the final protest to City Hall.

WOZA has been communicating with the Council PR Department and received a letter dated 29 October 2012 (BMN/W1/27), from the Town Clerk. This is the last paragraph in full, “Bulawayo City Council is committed to entering into a dialogue with you and your members to discuss more issues regarding the water crisis and water shedding. Council is available to provide further information to clarify issues on water raised by your organization.” Following up on this as a genuine invitation WOZA found their way blocked by Police on all 3 days of the protest campaign.

Those that made it to the steps of City hall on 14 November 2012, were greeted by very senior uniformed and those wearing plain clothes. The officers’ primary objective seemed to be to disperse the protest and attempted to take WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu to the police station which is located across the road to discuss the water problems. When asked if they had a mandate to act officially for city council they failed to give a plausible answer.

Dispersing the protest, Williams advised members gathered that negotiation with police to secure an address by the Mayor had failed and that the invitation issued by the Town clerk a false promise of dialogue. The WOZA leader then advised members to mobilise the ‘recall petition processes for Bulawayo councilors to be recalled by the electorate as they had failed to meet members or deal with the water crisis.

WOZA demands included the following
1.    City council and the Minister of Water must convene public hearings and come up with a consulted plan of action on the water problems.
2.    Members demand an END to water load shedding that extends beyond 24 hours and keep to timetables.
3.    City council must supply water purifying tablets
4.    City council must devise more effective methods of supplying residents with clean water in an orderly manner.
5.    There is already an outbreak of diseases and the health delivery systems cannot cope with the queues and demand for drips and medication. The Health Department must also have a disaster management plan in place for all residents to inspect and be able to input to.
6.    Demand increase to 100 litres per family per day from water bowser allocation, 40 litres is not enough for a family of five.
7.    Stop charging penalties; we are already penalised by the water crisis.
8.    Please help control fairly the access to boreholes and stop unscrupulous opportunists pretending to ‘own’ the borehole.

Demands to the minister
9.    Firstly we have to make these demands through the Mayor due to centralised power and lack of access.
10.    Honourable Mayor, tell the Minister that he must be accountable. He has made many empty promises but not delivered a single promise. He promised the water crisis would be dealt with by the first week of October but a month later we are thirsty. He must explain what he has done with the money he told us he had in his pocket.
11.    We demand that the minister also conduct a consultative process and come up with a comprehensive plan to bring water to Bulawayo. We demand this be done in a non partisan way separated from anyone’s political ambitions.
12.    Honourable Mayor we demand that you tell him and all your councillors that we are tired of being used as political tools. We demand constitutional devolution so that we can determine our own destiny. We are sick and tired of perennial problems and politicisation of our basic rights. Bob Marley sang these words, “you fool some of the people sometime but you can’t fool all the people all the time.’

Although the officers tried their best to be professional and no members were beaten, they still violated rights to freedom of expression and assembly of the participation and barred access to elected city officials. WOZA would like to nonetheless commend the officer commanding Bulawayo Chief Inspector Rangwani for finally realizing that arrests and beating will not deter the WOZA members. We applaud his effort to professionalise police response and encourage him to continue on this path to respect for democracy.

Medical UPDATE – One member has a fractured hand, an injury from a baton stick. Three members lost their shirts which were torn and tatteredafter blows from the baton stick wielding police officers.

WATER shortage protests continued in Bulawayo with 57 members arrested and beaten. The first edition of the protest began at 11am targeting the Council administration Tower block. A squad of 4 Riot Police disrupted the peaceful protest and surrounded 35 members. After 15 minutes senior police officers, one identified as the Controller, arrived and engaged the group announcing that he was ‘driving them off’. He was semi professional and no one was beaten or taken them into custody.

As midday struck 5 additional protests began separately all intending to converge on the Government complex. The first protest reached the Mhlahlandlela complex but a green truck carrying the reaction squad with 12 Riot Police. They quickly arrested 11 members, 9 women and 2 men and took them across the road to the Drill Hall, placing them under guard at 12:15.

The same vehicle then drove to the intersection H. Chitepo Street and 10th Avenue. The police officers disembarked to beat members were marching towards the complex. They indiscriminately beat even passes by. As they beat people these officers loudly shouted insults and violently beat anyone in their path. They shouted tribal and gender obscenities referring to the Ndebele people and calling the women prostitutes.

The second 11 were then arrested by the same squad, one referred to as Mukoshi who said he did not care if the activists knew his name. He also said with great support and approving laughter from his colleague, ‘this country was liberated by blood and only those who spilt blood can be the ones to talk.’ He went on to ask them to answer his question in the Shona language – Do they have their own dams, why are they asking for water.

The 11 were then forced to sit in the truck and driven to Bulawayo Central. When they got there and as they were disembarking, Lizwe Jamela of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights chief law officer was present. The officer commanding Bulawayo Chief Inspector Rangwani  arrived and shouted at the officers asking them what they had brought these women to the police station. He said take them back to where you got them. The driver of the police truck in the hearing of Lizwe Jamela said he would not take them back to Drill Hall but would drive them into the bush and dump them. He promptly drove away toward Victoria Falls with the lawyer in pursuit dumping them at a cemetery out of town. Four members are being seen by the doctor and many others are being attended by the WOZA medical support triage. The first 11 members arrested have also since been released so no members are left in custody at this time.

WOZA have argued that there is a tribal element of the manner in which police in Bulawayo treat WOZA members and this has today been further confirmed by the insults of all the Riot Officers. The women were called prostitutes and told not to speak to each other in the Ndebele language as the Ndebele people were all killed off by Gukurahundi in the 1980s. please see the list of demands http://wozazim.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Woza-Moya-WATER-November-2012.pdf

Approximately 200 members took to the streets of Mutare this morning as part of a nation-wide demand for power to the people by 2008.

The peaceful protesters marched for four blocks through the eastern city to Megawatt House, the local headquarters of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), where they delivered protest notes (see below) and their demand for better electricity supply and an end to corruption. The group sang and toyi-toyied for several minutes within the ZESA offices before dispersing. Police were seen to react fifteen minutes after the group had left Megawatt House.

The Mutare demonstration follows WOZA sit-ins at ZESA offices in Bulawayo, Harare and Masvingo. After the protests, activists in both Bulawayo and Harare were arrested and tortured in police custody, exposing the brutality of a regime that attacks its citizens for demanding an electricity service that matches the high tariffs people are forced to pay.

Whilst there have been no reports of arrests so far, it is anticipated that some members may be followed to their homes and picked up later in the day, as this is what occurred after the sit-ins in Masvingo. Two members were arrested in Masvingo having been followed to their homes, although they were later released.

In a separate matter, the 20 members arrested in Masvingo at the beginning of March during the launch of the People’s Charter in the provincial capital, are to appear on trial tomorrow, 5th July, on charges under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

WOZA once again pays tribute to the people of Mutare for taking to the street with their demands, despite ongoing state brutality and the recent cold weather, which would have made time in police cells extremely difficult. WOZA encourages other Zimbabweans to join in the demand for power to the people by 2008 – together we can achieve the brighter future we deserve.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members in Harare and Bulawayo conducted their traditional Valentine’s Day protests and both protests were marred by beatings and arrests. This is the 11^th year WOZA has conducted such a protest and this year’s theme is under the theme – One Love.  One hundred and ninety five were arrested then released after some hours but one woman remains in custody.

At 2 o’clock on 13 February 2013, Harare members marched towards parliament in two separate formations.  Riot Police based at Parliament disrupted the both protests and fired 5 canisters of tear gas to disperse the over 1000 strong protest sending members and bystanders scurrying for cover. Many people were affected by the tear gas and some children were seen crying. Business came to a standstill due to this indiscriminate use of force to disrupt a peaceful protest.

Over 25 members had to seek medical attention including the 8 members who were arrested at parliament and beaten by the 8 Riot police during the 20 minute wait for the police van to take them into custody. A ninth bystander a male, had his cell phone taken and was separated from the others and beaten for over 20minutes between the police reaction group headquarters in Harare’s Cramborne Barracks and Harare Central police station.

The 8 arrested were Jennifer Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa, Hilda Murapa, Enia Mazambare, Tambudzai Manangazira, Siphetheni Ndlovu and Maria Majoni. As the women arrived at the Police station, the receiving police officer chided his uniformed colleagues for ‘arresting WOZA’ and told them to take them away. For over 2 hours no progress was made and it was unclear if the 8 were in detention or not but their liberty was obviously curtailed. After they were release all 9 including the bystander spent another 3 hours lodging a formal complaint about the beatings, tear gas and abuse they had suffered. A police report number is available for the complaint. All nine then were taken to hospital for treatment and x-rays for the brutality meted out on them at Parliament.

On 14February 2013 members in Bulawayo conducted their Valentine’s Day protest. Members decided to march to the police Headquarters in 9^th Avenue, at Southampton House. Members wanted to demand that the Police respond to formal complaints about police beatings and brutality. Police brutality prevailed during a Water protest on 12 November. WOZA then marched to hand over a protest on 29 November but no response was forthcoming.

The 4pm protest began with smoothly but when the 8 protest groups number 800 members neared Southampton house, Riot police swooped and began indiscriminately beating members. WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu managed to regroup the protest and after many skirmishes managed to get the members to sit down on the pavement so that official proceedings could begin. As this began senior ranking officers repeated order for Riot officer to beat the two activists who were still recovering from the Harare protest assault.  Police officers began arresting any male person they observed with a camera, numbering 6.

The police boss then requested Williams to go upstairs to the officer to dialogue with the police provincial leadership. After obtaining assurances that nothing would befall the members and that the 6 men arrested would return with Williams, her and a colleague went upstairs.

The meeting was to be short-lived as the officers were obviously not cooperative and kept blocking progress by insisting on a formal letter requesting an appointment to receive feedback on the many complaint letters.  The meeting came to an abrupt end when Williams was telephoned by Magodonga Mahlangu to say all the participants had been arrested by the Riot Reaction group and taken to the Bulawayo Central Police station. Williams then walked out of the meeting and handed herself into custody with 179 other members. The 6 male members were also still in custody at Southampton house.

The same police bosses who had attempted to meet Williams, then arrived at the station and misled the meeting with Williams had been fruitful and that they did not know why or how the members came to be in the police station but that they should leave immediately. Williams then addressed members say they would leave police custody but only if the missing 6 male members were also released as they had all been together. Without any further dialogue the officers barked order to the Riot Reaction group to remove the 180 members forthwith from the police station.  A few members were then beaten again.

It transpired that of the six men that remained in custody only 1 is a WOZA members, the others bystanders who took photos of the protest. They were this night tortured by intelligence agents and then released home for the night with instructions to return at 9am on 15 February.

The woman, Bertha Sibanda is in custody for ‘indecent exposure’. She was one of the 180 in custody and she stripped naked in the police station in frustration at not having her complaints addressed. She is one of the 11 members who were in a Water protest that police violently disturbed and was subjected to tribal insults about Gukurahundi when she lost family to this massacre. complaint police harrasment to ZRP 13nov incident and Follow up letter 14 Feb13 police complaint

Meanwhile 6 members had medical attention, one of who has to have 3 teeth pulled due to batons stick injury to her mouth. Several members have reported being called by police officers requesting information about the protest plans and made the offer of money for information. Two of the calls were made from Bulawayo number 60248 Code (00 263 9). WOZA suspect this number to be of an intelligence office. WOZA invite activism to assist us in holding this intelligence office accountable for harassment and beating of WOZA members in an attempt to curtail their right to protest.

WOZA handed over their demands contained in the February 2013 Woza Moya Newsletter.  Woza Moya Feb 2013

AT 11am 300 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) marched to Police Officers in Southampton House.  November 29th is Women Human Rights Defenders Day an appropriate day to deliver a letter of complaint about police harassment.

This protest is the second in respect of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence under the international theme: From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence against Women! But WOZA will use a shortened version – PEACE NOW!

As the 5 separate protests arrived on the pavement outside Southampton House, WOZA national coordinator Jenni Williams was arrested and moments later Programmes Coordinator Magodonga Mahlangu was arrested. Undeterred, the two leaders encouraged members to join them on the pavement. Once most members were present, the command to ‘sit and observe non violent discipline’ was chanted and members sat down. The arresting police officers quickly backed off to the door of Southampton House blocking entrance.

The activists then engaged police to request the Complaints Desk officer come downstairs to receive the letter of complaint.  Various police officers came back and forth trying to coerce Williams and Mahlangu to go into the building to deliver the letter but sensing a trap they declined. The letter of complaint calls on the Bulawayo Commanding Officers to investigate the behaviour of police officers on 13 November 2012. WOZA also call for the arrest of police officer Mukoshi and his colleagues who participated in this violence and perpetrated cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment inflicted on WOZA members. WOZA has given the police command 7 days to investigate this matter or they will take up the matter by other legal means.

Included in the 20 minute protest programme was speeches and testimonies by various members who had been beaten by police. Three of those beaten testified and described their injuries and the insults and abuse by police. A huge crowd gathered and bystanders also aired their sympathy and booed the police for insulting members for speaking isiNdebele language. In defiance of the unofficial ban of the Ndebele language, the activist only sang Ndebele songs: Thina silwela amalungelo (We are standing up for our rights) and Lamulela Amapholisa bayasitshaya (help us by intervening, the police are beating us)

At this time 2 more senior officers attended and said they could not accept the letter referring the activist to Bulawayo District Police chief based at Ross Camp. They ignored requests to receive the letter as they have done on several occasions. Williams and Mahlangu then requested their escort to Ross Camp several city blocks away but the two officers contradicted each other. Seeing the indecision, the two leaders announced that the procession would move to Ross camp.  The procession then reformed and began to march.

Along the route at the St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and members decided to kneel and pray as they walked past. It was as they were kneeling that a truck of Riot police arrived and jumped from their vehicles beating several members kneeling in prayer. Serious injury was averted by the arrival of another senior officer who then insisted Williams and Mahlangu get into the van. However the junior officers refused to open the tail gate of the van and there was no female officer to assist the two into the vehicle. The senior officer then suggested that he wanted to drive only the two leaders to deliver their letter to the District Commanding Officer at Ross Camp.

Further pandemonium resulted as an overzealous officer then tried to arrest a young man and members had to surround him to prevent his victimization. Calm was then restored when the senior officer said he should be released and Williams was asked to calm the members down with the promise that no arrested would be made.

Williams and Mahlangu then asked the protest participants to sit quietly and await their return from the District Command Office. They were escorted into a police double cab but as they were pulling away the District Commanding Officer arrived and agreed to officially receive the letter of complaint and sign for it. Williams and Mahlangu then announced the end of the protest 45minutes after it started and members quietly walked to the Bus terminus without being disturbed.

After supervising this dispersal, Williams and Mahlangu then headed back to town to run some errands but this proved difficult as over 6 plain clothed officers followed them and monitored them, seemingly wanting to secure a late arrest. However Williams and Mahlangu managed to lose the officers and avoid further harassment.

Background note: In 1982 to 83, the North Koreans trained the Zimbabwe Army Fifth Brigade and they were deployed into Matabeleland and Midlands and perpetrated a massacre of mostly Ndebele speaking people who were perceived to support the opposition party of late Joshua Nkomo. This campaign was called Gukurahundi, a Shona language word meaning the first rains that wash away the rubbish. During those tragic years, the massacre went unreported as then primeminister Robert Mugabe was feted internationally. Mugabe has since owned up by calling the massacre a ‘moment of madness’. At present many of the 20000 people estimated to have been killed remain unaccounted for and their bodies have never been located.  complaint police harrasment to ZRP 13nov incident

ZIMBABWE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AUTHORITY (ZESA)
I am a power consumer and have been your customer for many years but your service has been getting worse in the last three years. I have run out of patience; your service is no longer empowering anyone but is draining many pockets. I want POWER and deserve to be given all the basic requirements a human being needs. I know ZESA is also a victim of a bad and mismanaged economy but think that ZESA should do more to deal with internal corruption.

You were singing ZESA has come with the power – ‘ZESA yawuya nePower’ – saka ZESA yazoyenda nePower yacho? ‘IZESA isibuye lamandla kagetsi’ – pho aseyengaphi lawo mandla? We demand POWER to the people for real!

My last account from ZESA was for $ ……………………..…. for 30 days of service.

I did not have any electricity for the following period of time ……………hours ………. days ………….. in the last month and want my account to be credited for this amount of time.

As your customer I have come to complain and request compensation. My demand is simple.
1. Stop turning a blind eye to corruption in your company and deal with the criminals within.
2. Credit my account for the hours or days you did not provide me with POWER.
3. Find us alternative sources of power – cheaper firewood, candles and matches, as we cannot afford to pay $10,000 for one candle and $1,000 for a box of matches. You are refusing to give us regular and efficient POWER so you should pay for us to have candlelight.
4. WE DEMAND POWER TO THE PEOPLE by March 2008.

Yours faithfully,

Impatient for POWER

ALL RELEASED BY 3PM!!!!  SANITY PREVAILED

SEVENTY NINE members and two babies are under arrest at Bulawayo Central police station for staging a peaceful protest at the City Council Tower block on the water issue. At noon 12 November 2012. A 16 year old girl was handcuffed so over an hour as they officer concerned could not locate the handcuff keys.   – see the demands here Woza Moya WATER November 2012

Initially 150 members were arrested as police swooped but 70 were refused entry into the police station.

The peaceful protest targeted Tower block where most city council staff work as a way to pressurize them to refuse to implement oppressive disconnections and to adhere to water load shedding timetables.

Upon arrival at the Tower block council security guard immediately threatened to call the Riot Police which created increased tension. A senior council security officer then attended and promised that no Riot Police would be called. He then requested WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu accompany him to see the Director of Water. It was as they climbed the 6 flights that Riot Police swooped arresting the seated members awaiting the Director of Water.

Many of the members attending the protest have not had water for weeks and when it comes it is dirty and undrinkable.

Lawyers have been deployed to attend to those arrested whom include Magodonga Mahlangu.

Masvingo:
TWENTY members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) appeared on trial before Magistrate Nyamukomba in Masvingo last Monday, charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The prosecutor, D. Charamba, appealed for a postponement with the excuse that no witnesses were willing to come forward and he needed to get advice from the area senior prosecutor before he could proceed. The magistrate refused to allow the extension and granted the defence’s application that the accused be taken off remand. The State was ordered to proceed by way of summons when it had its house in order. The Masvingo 20 were defended by Mr Shumba, a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

The members had been arrested on 7th March whilst launching the People’s Charter in the Masvingo provincial capital. They had been required to report to the police station weekly as part of their bail conditions and had appeared in court four times previously. Two previous trial dates had failed to take off.

Bulawayo:
WOZA National Coordinator, Jenni Williams will appear in Bulawayo Magistrates court on Monday 23rd July after being issued with a summons for an arrest during a peaceful protest in 2004. Police had summoned her on two previous occasions for the same arrest but had no docket ready on both occasions. The current summons was served on Williams when she was last in police custody on 6th June. The second appearance will be on 2nd August; again for a 2004 arrest for peaceful protest. Williams has been arrested approximately 30 times in the last five years and has spent the equivalent of two months in custody, with one arrest lasting five days.

Gweru:
In a busy week for WOZA in the courts, the 26 members arrested in Gweru for launching the People’s Charter in the Midlands capital in March, will appear on trial in Gweru Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 24th July. They are charged under Chapter 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘participating in a public gathering with the intent to cause public disorder, breach of peace or bigotry’. As these were the same charges faced by the Masvingo 20, it is hoped that a similar outcome will occur.

letter of complaint to ZRP about 12 september12 violation of WOZA members rights

Update – Christine Ndlovu was released after Law and Order Officer George Ngwenya made her pay a $5 fine for trespass and went to her home to verify her Identity Card. Her lawyer Kossam Ncube drove the police officers to Christines home. WOZA Leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu followed to make sure nothing untoward would occur. Concerns that Ngwenya wanted to search her home or get to know where she lives for intimidation purposes remain!

Statement – At 11am on 18 September 2012 sixty two members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) marched to the Bulawayo offices of the Joint Operating and Monitoring Committee (JOMIC) in Bulawayo. Riot Police were deployed in other parts of the city and it was strategic for the members to select to march to JOMIC. The procession was to deliver letters of complaint about the treatment by police of members on 12 September 2012. Members were stopped from enjoying their right to peaceful protest by Riot Police who chased them with baton sticks. The complaint also dealt with the arbitrary arrest of WOZA leaders, detaining them under false pretences at Bulawayo Central Police Station. In the complaint WOZA threaten to effect a ‘citizen’s arrest’ on Riot Police officers who violate their own legal requirements on dealing with peaceful protests. Ten minutes before the march, Williams and Mahlangu had attempted to deliver a letter of complaint to Police General Headquarters in Southampton House. Unfortunately the District Clerk refused to sign acceptance of the letter of complaint. JOMIC received the complaint and directed WOZA leaders to try to get the Press and Public Relations office at Ross Camp Headquarters to receive the complaint and sign acknowledgement. By this time the members had gathered at JOMIC and a protest was in progress. Addressing the protest Williams reported developments and members decided to march silently to Ross Camp to get the complaint delivered.

Arrival at Ross camp was met with deployment of more Riot Police who refused to allow all 62 women to enter. Williams and Mahlangu were permitted entry but were unsuccessful in getting the Press department to accept the complaint. Assistant Inspector Bhekinkosi Ndlovu refused and referred the activists back to Southampton House. As they exited the camp, a member Christine Ndlovu was arrested by the police officer manning the gate on allegations that she had trespassed. Her arrest was facilitated by notorious Law and Order Detective Sergeant George Levison Ngwenya, responsible for the torture and harassment of members. He is also the officer behind the bringing of malicious Kidnap and Theft charges on Williams and Mahlangu.

The WOZA leaders then briefed the members that the PR department had refused to sign and had referred WOZA back to Southampton House. As they were doing this a car pulled up with two police internal security intelligence officers Kamba and Dhambi from Southampton who had attended the activists earlier that morning. They then asked Williams and Mahlangu to hand over the complaint so they could formally receive it. They offered to drive the activist back to the officer for a more formal acceptance process but citing potential for abduction, the two insisted that they would walk back to Southampton House, 6 blocks away. As they tried to leave, another contingent of plain clothed police possible from another wing of state machinery, the central intelligence organisation, accosted the two and tried to take away the letter of complaint. Snatching it back, Williams and Mahlangu then made to get on their way to Southampton House.

Further delays resulted as more Riot Police were deployed bring the number of Riot Police to 30. These officers began to make harsh threats to ‘beat and kill’ WOZA members. The two activists were then separated from the 60 members had to make their way under surveillance of 8 plain clothed police officer and a truck full of 12 Riot Police until they reached police headquarters in Southampton House. The two officers Kamba and Dhambi then calmly signed the letter of complaint acknowledgement allowing the activists to finally end a tedious 2 hours.

Christine Ndlovu remains in custody but is now at Mzilikazi Police station awaiting the deployment of Law and Order Police officers who it seems now have ‘ criminal trespass’ as part of their brief. Please call 00 263 9 74439 or 00 263 9 488114 to ask police officers why they are keeping Christine in custody. WOZA fear for her safety due to the presence of perpetrators of torture like Law and Order Officer, G. L. Ngwenya on her matter.
See also the follow press statement from WOZA  and the UN and African Comissisioners for Human Rights on http://wozazim.org/?p=1347