Bulawayo members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) who were arrested and beaten continued to seek medical attention. Five where remained in custody last night were 4 men and 1 woman. The men were released but Bertha Sibanda was detained and remains in custody at Bulawayo Central Police Station. All of those arrested were denied access to food delivered by WOZA leader Jenni Williams. The officer in charge of Bulawayo foolishly told Williams that the 5 were not hungry.

Bertha Sibanda is charged with contravening section 132 of the Code that is publicly exposing herself and being a nuisance. She was very traumatised by the police refusal to respond to WOZA’s formal complaint about her treatment in a Water protest on 12 November 2012. She joined the Valentines Days protest in order to follow up on the complaint. The events of that day were similar to the Wednesday in Harare and Thursday in Bulawayo situation whereby junior officers indiscriminately arrest WOZA members, then the senior officers refused to allow the arrests. In November instead of recognising the mistake with humility, they bundled her and 10 others into a vehicle and dumped them at a cemetery out of town. Just as she did on Valentine’s Day, Bertha and her colleagues had undergone severe beating, tribal insults by police officer Mukoshi. WOZA have since demanded he be disciplined but this request has been ignored. http://wozazim.org/?p=1370

Also during the protest, a male member Lucky Ncube was arrested. Although he was never charged with anything, his crime seemed to be having a camera. He was later released at 11pm with the 3 bystanders who had also taken photographs. During the evening in custody, he was taken Law and Order Department room 5. Whilst there he was made to him remove his trousers as a humiliation. He was also made to remove his shoes and beaten with whip under his feet. This type of torture is termed ‘falanga’. Its common use if to inflict pain without evidence of bruising as the soles of the feet hide such injury. The officer suspected to have conducted this torture is Z. Moyo. Lucky was also asked if he knows the party Zanu PF and accused of trying to discredit Zanu PF by publishing photographs. He was threatened that Zanu PF is the party that can spill blood which is the language often used by police officers who have become partisan. He was then released at 11pm and followed by police officers for several city blocks until he managed to obtain transport to go home. It is assumed that the police officers wanted to determine if you would make contact with WOZA leaders including Jenni Williams who had been conducting a vigil outside the police station. At 10:30 pm, police officers had chased the women away.

The Valentine’s Day protest is part of the annual ‘love’ protest, this year’s theme is – One Love.  During the two protests in Harare and Bulawayo one hundred and ninety members were arrested plus 4 bystanders who simply took photos with their cameras. We estimate over 50 members were beaten with the hard rubber baton sticks that Riot Reaction Group police carry. WOZA medical support team have provided pain killers and muscle rub to most of these members but 13 had to attend for professional medical attention.  Two additional members had to be taken to the hospital today – one due to a blow to the head and another had 3 stitches to her inner lip and lost 3 teeth due to police beatings.

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

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

WOMEN of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) member, Bertha Sibanda, appeared in Tredgold Magistrates Court Bulawayo charged with contravening section 132 of the Code that is publicly exposing herself and being a nuisance. She was granted bail of $100 on condition that she resides at her given address and that she must not interfere with witnesses. She appeared before Court 2 presiding magistrate Mr. Mthethwa. She is defended by Kossam Ncube deployed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. She will appear for a further remand hearing on 4th March 2013.

The outline of the state case reads, “Charge C/S 77 (a) of the criminal law codification and reform act Chapter 9:23 “Public Indecency”. The complainant is the state. It reads; “4. On the 14 February 2013 at about 1600hrs, a group of women was brought at Z.R.P Bulawayo Central by Byo police reaction group following an unnotified gathering at Southampton Building. 5. Accused was amongst the other group of women that followed at Byo Central protesting against the police officers who had taken their partners. 6. Whilst gathered at Z.R.P Byo Central courtyard, accused Bertha Sibanda indecently exposed herself by taking off her blouse and skirt and remained wearing a pant in a public place and within view of Police officers and the crowd that was gathered at Z.R.P Byo Central courtyard. 7. Accused was arrested by number 9916561 cst Nkenjana who escorted her into the charge office where a report was opened. 8 accused acted unlawful.”

WOZA wish to make known that disrobing is a form of non violent protest practiced in many cultures and recognised by the foremost scholar of Nonviolence Professor Gene Sharp. Professor Sharp’s authored 198 methods of protest and symbolic public acts. Protest disrobings appears as number 22.

WOZA wish to object to the selective application of the law and waste of court resources in this case. “It is clear that if you are a members of Zanu PF you can strip without consequence in front of the American ambassador but if you happen to be a member of WOZA; you are denied access to food, held in police custody for 4 days then you are arraigned before court that will continue to use scarce resources to persecute you by prosecution. WOZA abbreviated protest checklist (Gene Sharp)

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.

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

Hundreds of members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took part in peaceful street actions in 10 areas of Bulawayo today. The community-based demonstrations targeted local shops and businesses demanding affordable food on the shelves and an end to selling to cronies and the uniformed forces out the back door. The protestors also delivered an open letter to business owners and the ministers of Industry and Commerce and Home Affairs to demand meaningful economic reforms, rather than the unthinking slashing of prices. There have been no reports of arrests to date from any of the protests.

Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) then completed a morning of protest by marching for four blocks through central Bulawayo to TM Hypermarket with the same demands. This was MOZA’s first demonstration on their own. Plain-clothed police officers were seen collecting up the open letter after the protest and presumably it will be delivered through them to the respective ministers.

Activists targeted shops in Nkulumane 5, Mpopoma, Matshobana, Mabutweni, Njube, Nkulumane 12, Tshabalala, Pumula Old and North and Magwegwe. In the city centre MOZA targeted OK Bazaars and TM Hypermarket.

The open letter carried by the protestors outlined several demands to both businesses and government, including the request that government and the manufacturing sector should negotiate in good faith to find ways to produce more affordable food without compromising the living wage of workers; that the Price Control Task Force be reshuffled and be selected in a transparent manner and that government stop harassing shop owners and allow them to stock and trade freely and honestly at the price set. A copy of the open letter in full can be found below.

It has come to the attention of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members that a flyer is being circulated around Bulawayo which uses, without permission, our logo and contact information, including our website address. We disassociate ourselves from this flyer both in content and in its distribution.

This flyer attacks the person of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and accuses him of affairs and abuse of women. Whilst we respect anyone right to freedom of expression and to hold a view, we expected the authors to stand up for their own views and not hide behind WOZA ‘skirts’  to make the personal attack.

WOZA is in the process of investigating the authors and distributors of this flyer with a view to taking legal action against them for impersonating WOZA and using our logo without authorisation.

Meanwhile we suggest that the originators of such leaflets cease and desist from such unethical practice and WOZA advise them to stop using WOZA logo and reputation.

WOZA members have never needed feeding of messaging from strangers; members are quite capable of authoring, preparing, distributing their own messages and reserve the right to do so without prompting by this ‘hidden hand’.

Note: Attachment of the flyer is done for purposes of context of the statement and to confirm our disassociation with it only.

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 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.