The applicants are the founder and coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). They were arrested on 16 October 2008 and 19 June 2004 upon allegations of having committed both jointly acts likely to interfere with ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the public and also on allegation acting together in any place realising that there’s a real risk or possibility of the disturbing peace, security or order of the public.

On 22 January 2009, counsel for the applicants challenged the right of the state to prosecute the applicants. He did so, on the ground that the facts with the particular sections do not disclose any offence and further he stated that there would be previous prejudice if the accused are prosecuted. It is apparent that their conduct is protected by law. The state responded by opposing the application and stated in its argument that the charges should stand as they are; that both charges disclose an offence in this application the court dismissed the application and reasons were availed to both counsel.

On the 27th January2009 the applicants through their lawyer approached the court seeking a postponement due to the fact that he had other commitments and needed sufficient time to go through the ruling that had been made on the 22nd January 2009.

Once again the state was opposed to the postponement and reiterated by indicting the court that witnesses were in attendance and the defence’s request to postpone the matter was meant to delay the trial.

The court ruled that the trial should proceed and the appellants filed a notice of appeal against refusal to grant a postponement on the 28 January 2009. The order was granted on the 13 February by the High Court that matter should be postponed to 26 February. On the 25th February 2009 counsel filed yet another notice of appeal again the ruling that had been made by the court on the 22 January 2009.

On the 26 February 2009 the matter could be heard because the court did not have the High Court’s order and hence the matter was postponed to the 05/03/09.

On the 05 March 2009 where the matter was supposed to proceed to trial counsel for the applicants indicated to the court that he was requesting the applicants’ matter be referred to the Supreme Court for its decision in terms of S.24 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

In the three application the applicants made in this occur referred above, the matter could not commence to trial. Despite the fact that the matter had been set down for trial on the 22 January 2009 by consent. In essence on one was caught by surprise. The witnesses attended the accused persons and the defence attended, the state was ready for trial but defence counsel sought to a postponement as highlighted above by making an application to quash the charge/indictment on the basis that the facts did not disclose a charge.

Subsequently on two other occasions, despite the presence of the witnesses and the preparedness of the state counsel the defence asked for another postponement and the trial was further delayed.

Before this court for determination is a fourth application made on the 5th March 2009 which date was again a trial date.

Section 24 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe has been interpreted clearly by the Supreme Court in the case of Martin vs A.G and Aruss 1993 (i) ZLR at 153 Supreme Court as right to approach the Supreme Court for relief. In that case the Supreme Court laid down the test to be used by the court before which the application is made in terms of that section.

Gubbay C.J as he then was and the other 4 judges of the Supreme Court held “…………the test of whether a request for referral under S24 (2) of the Constitution is frivolous/vexatious is whether or not it would constitute on abuse of the process of the Supreme Court and had to be determined by applying conscientious and objective thought to the question.”

The bona fides of the application can be commended probably by conscientiously and objectively looking at the circumstances preceding this application. The issue of the constitutionality or otherwise of the charges the accused are facing is only being raise now after three other application brought by the defence to present the trial of this matter on three other dates.

It is my objective view that matters brought before this court must be tried on trial date if all witness are present, the court is properly constituted, the defence is present and was aware of the final date and if the accused are in a healthy state making it proper for a comprehensible proceeding. A postponement must e refused save for compelling reasons.

From the attitude of the defence, it would appear from the circumstances and the charge and the facts of the case, the accused are playing for time and are deliberately frustrating the course of justice by preventing the commencement of the trial. The various application made before have not been without merit save for one postponement that they were granted by the High Court from these circumstances. I am convinced that this application is without bona fides and is clearly an abuse of the process of the Supreme Court. My conclusion therefore is that this request for referral under S24 of the Constitution is therefore frivolous and vexatious and must be denied and I order that the matter must proceed to trial.

Update – 6pm

Five members, four women and one man, will spend the night in Harare Central Police Station tonight following their arrest this morning whilst trying to hand in a petition to the Minister of Education. Lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have not been allowed access to their clients so the details of what they will be charged with are not known. Food has been allowed in to the group this evening.

Nine members have had to receive treatment for the vicious beatings they received from riot police. All have been discharged however. Most injuries were deep tissue bruising from being beaten with baton sticks – deep welts can be seen on most of those that received treatment. One woman has a fractured toe from where she was stamped on by a booted police officer. The woman for whom the ambulance was called has a serious injury to her knee. She had been trying to protect her seven-month old baby from being beaten and was begging police not to hurt her or her baby. This obviously angered the police who then proceeded to single her out for a more severe beating. She is unable to walk and had to be carried home. Many others received beatings but as police were circling the Ministry continuously, they obviously were not able to make contact with the support team to receive treatment.

In the meantime the trial of WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu on charges of disturbing the peace is set to resume tomorrow in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court.

******

Hundreds of members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA) delivered a petition to the new Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart today in Harare. Whilst leaders tried to deliver the petition to the minister, with whom they had an official appointment, riot police indiscriminately beat the peaceful group that were waiting for the minister to come and address them. At least 10 members have been arrested. The full extent of the injuries sustained are not clear but at least one woman is unable to walk and an ambulance has been called for her.

The group of 450 members handing in the petition converged on the Ministry of Education from three different directions. The first group to arrive was immediately set upon by the riot police detail that is based at Parliament. Whilst they were being beaten however, the women appealed to the police reminding them that their children are not going to school either. The police stopped the beatings and the protestors re-grouped outside the Ministry to wait. A police vehicle full of riot police arrived shortly afterwards however and again started to beat the group. They were joined by a second vehicle, again full of riot police who were banging their shields and singing, “today we are going to beat you” as they descended on the group and viciously began to beat them. They later changed their song to “why are your husbands’ allowing you to demonstrate?”.

As they were driven off towards Harare Central Police Station, the women under arrest were heard to be singing “we want education for our children.” More details of their arrest will be given once lawyers had been able to attend to them.

The Minister, who had been delayed by an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, finally arrived to accept the petition of approximately 25,000 signatures. He expressed regret and sorrow that the group who had had an official appointment with him should be beaten and arrested and said that these kinds of incidents were exactly what the MDC was trying to change by joining government. He also stated that he had heard the pleas of Zimbabwean parents and would do everything in his power to ensure that every child goes to school.

The petition and the protest are part of WOZA’s Take the Step campaign, designed to encourage Zimbabweans to continue with the civic participation that they demonstrated in March 2008. The signatures on the petition were collected by WOZA members in a door-to-door campaign in recent weeks. The petition text reads as follows: ‘Please put our children’s education first. I am a parent whose child did not learn well in 2008. There were no teachers, no textbooks, and I cannot pay the new forex fees. Please declare the education system a national disaster and allow all children to repeat 2008 at no cost. Those that do not want to repeat will need help so that the children do not suffer. Please campaign to lure teachers home with dignified salaries, adequate supplies, furniture and equipment in schools.’

More information will be made available as it is received.

View updates and statements on our Campaigns

Constitution-making

Democracy

Education

Stand Up For Your Child – 2008

Take the Step Campaign – 2009

WOZA participates in a variety of campaigns locally and internationally.

International Women’s Day

Valentine’s Day

Also have a look at our publications to get a sense of our campaigns and our position on a variety of issues.

WOZA sit down during their Valentine protest, Bulawayo

Members in Bulawayo took to the streets on Saturday 14th February, three days after the swearing in of the new government and one day after the swearing in of the new Cabinet. At least 800 members took part in the peaceful proceedings, urging Zimbabweans to let love light the way.

The peaceful Valentine’s protest had four different starting points. The plan was for all four groups to meet at a central point and process together to the office of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper. All four demonstrations started on time, despite a heavy police presence in the city centre. One of the first groups was stopped after one block by riot police however. A leader was arrested and the rest of the group told to disperse, which they did peacefully.

The other three groups successfully met up with each other on the corner of 9th Avenue and Fort Street but were unable to process further as they were stopped by riot police. Hundreds of members were held under arrest at this point. They were then ordered by a senior police officer to march to City Hall. As the group was so large however, and the number of police escorts relatively few, many were able to slip away as they walked the several blocks to City Hall. At City Hall, those under arrest were asked to present their identification cards to police and were searched. Anyone found with WOZA materials (including red roses) were sent to Central Police Station. Those that did not have any WOZA items in their possession were released.

As people slipped away from police, they met up with those that had avoided arrest and continued with spontaneous marches through town or else congregated as delegations at the Chronicle. Several groups of WOZA members were seen entering the Chronicle offices to deliver Valentine’s cards, roses and flyers.

It also appears that police did not remain nonviolent. Witnesses reported seeing riot police randomly beating people, some several blocks away from the demonstration. Six young men, who just happened to be passing the offices of the Chronicle, were observed to be beaten by riot police. Chronicle staff members were also seen to be pointing out WOZA members who had delivered Valentine’s cards and roses to their offices to the police, leading to their arrest.

The demonstrations and the chaotic and violent dispersal were witnessed by three South African observers from civic society – Precious Myeza from South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), Sakina Mohamed from the South African Council of Churches and Bunie Matlanyane Sexwale from Khulumani Support Group as part of the Save Zimbabwe Now Coalition. All were present to provide solidarity with WOZA members as it was strongly suspected that police would react oppressively as there is little doubt in the minds of ordinary Zimbabweans that the unity government has not changed anything on the ground.

After all the confusion and chaos of the day, seven WOZA women and three male members of Radio Dialogue, a community-based radio station, who were observing the demonstration, were arrested and spent four nights in custody at Bulawayo Central Police Station. The group were denied access to their lawyer until Monday morning, two days after their arrest.

This was a clear violation of Zimbabwean laws which allow police 48-hours within which to charge people and bring them to court. Police argued that the 48 hour period of detention had not expired but according to the Criminal Evidence and Procedure Act, it starts from the moment of arrest (regardless of whether on a weekend or not) and can only be extended if the 48-hour period expires on a non-court day.

The group were kept in horrific conditions. The cells were filthy with overflowing toilets and on the first night, they were severely overcrowded. Food bins were not emptied regularly so maggots could be seen crawling in the bins. The women were also subjected to invasive strip searches every day. One woman on anti-retroviral treatment had to fight for access to her tablets every day by demanding to see the officer-in-charge as police tried to deny her access to her life-saving medication – on one occasion, she was actually denied her ARVs.

As well as being denied access to their lawyer and being kept in horrific conditions, the group was also subjected to intense pressure to pay admission of guilt fines. Due to this intense pressure and the deplorable conditions in the cells, six of the detained group succumbed and paid fines for obstructing traffic on Tuesday afternoon – the three Radio Dialogue staff, and three WOZA members, two mothers and one member who developed a bad rash.

Four women refused to bow to pressure and insisted on being taken to court. In a surprise twist, they were released from custody later that same evening and instructed to return to the police station the next morning. When they presented themselves the next morning, they were informed by the Investigating Officer, Constable Masawi, that the charges against them were being changed and so the paperwork would need to be prepared from the beginning. They spent the morning at the police station being processed for the fresh charges and were informed that they would be taken to court the next morning.

The new charges were under Section 46 2 (v) of the Third Schedule to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘employs any means whatsoever which are likely materially to interfere with the ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the public or any section of the public, or does any act which is likely to create a nuisance or obstruction’. They had previously been charged under Section 37 (1b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘ … performs any action, utters any words or distributes or displays any writing, sign or other visible representation that is obscene, threatening, abusive or insulting, intending thereby to provoke a breach of the peace…’

The four women were finally taken to court on Thursday morning on the fresh charges of criminal nuisance. The prosecutor at Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court refused to entertain the charges however. All four women were therefore unconditionally released after six days of harassment and intimidation by police, four of which were spent in horrific conditions in police cells. In consultation with the four women, WOZA is considering suing the Zimbabwe Republic Police for wrongful arrest and detention.

The names of those arrested were: Barbara Bepe, Patience Mpofu, Praise Mlangeni, Gladys Dube, Shingirai Mupani, Virginia Sithole, and Peace Mthethwa. The three men from Radio Dialogue were Thandazani Nkomo, Zenzele Ndebele and Oscar Hungwe.

The events in Harare and Bulawayo, together with the arrest of MDC Treasurer Roy Bennett on the day of the swearing in of Ministers and the continued incarceration of Jestina Mukoko and other abductees despite court orders instructing their release, are further evidence however that nothing has changed in Zimbabwe. More than ever Zimbabweans need to remain vigilant and participate in defending their rights and freedoms against a regime determined to cling to power despite the platitudes they mouth that they are prepared to share power.

WOZA activists are arrested by police, Bulawayo, 14 February 2009

WOZA marches in Harare, 10 February 2009

On Tuesday 10th February, approximately 600 members demonstrated for several blocks to Parliament in Harare. Whilst riot police stationed outside Parliament looked like they might try to beat and arrest the group, they decided against it and the demonstrators dispersed without incident.

As they marched, the peaceful protestors sang Baba, tuma mweya (Father, send the holy spirit to heal this nation) and handed out red roses, Valentine’s cards, candles, matches and flyers to passersby. The group also briefly stopped outside the UNDP offices to give UN workers roses and Valentine’s cards to thank them for all their efforts in assisting people through the humanitarian crisis. When the group reached Parliament, they also delivered red roses and Valentine’s cards to a number of Senators and Members of Parliament that were standing at the entrance. They also left their placards and flyers at the entrance before dispersing.

In January 2009, WOZA and MOZA launched a new campaign – Take the Step/Qhubeka/Yendera Mberi, designed to encourage Zimbabweans to continue with the civic participation that they demonstrated in March 2008. The campaign is based on the premise that in March 2008 Zimbabweans began a journey towards a new socially just Zimbabwe, a destination that has still not been reached, despite the formation of a unity government. Life in Zimbabwe is incredibly hard and we are still in the darkness. WOZA is urging Zimbabweans not to just complain however but to light the darkness through their actions and by continuing to be active in demanding social justice. By allowing love to light the way, we can reach a socially just Zimbabwe. To demonstrate love in action and to literally light the darkness, WOZA is giving Zimbabweans candles and matches as part of the campaign to encourage them to take the step of joining the movement. Candles and matched distributed in the demonstration today were finished very quickly due to their popular demand. WOZA will therefore gratefully receive any donations of candles, matches and roses for the campaign. More information on the Take the Step Campaign can be found below.

For the last few weeks, members have been mobilising in underground meetings for the first public demonstration of the campaign, Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is traditionally an occasion that WOZA has used to urge Zimbabweans to choose love over hate and marks the 7th anniversary of WOZA’s birth.

Members in Harare decided to hold their Valentine’s protest before the swearing in of the new unity government, which is set to happen tomorrow, to test whether the so-called unity is genuine and will open space for the people of Zimbabwe to dialogue with their leaders about the priorities facing government.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediation process excluded the voices of ordinary Zimbabweans. Furthermore, when Zimbabweans spoke through the ballot in the 29 March 2008 election, SADC chose to ignore the results and the killing and mutilation of Zimbabweans that followed. This week SADC orders resulted in the passing of a power-sharing amendment to the constitution leading the way for a complicated dual power system of governing Zimbabwe.

Whilst it is too late for Zimbabweans to input into this awkward inclusive government, people can put pressure on them to prioritise humanitarian issues, like food access, the health delivery system to prevent further loss of life and the emergency situation regarding the collapsed education system. As we march we will be saying telling politicians ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Eight women were arrested whilst dispersing from the demonstration and spent two nights in custody in Harare Central Police Station. Two lawyers who happened to be passing Parliament after the demonstration had dispersed were also arrested for holding their cell phones. Police insisted they were trying to take photographs and arrested them. The group of 10 spent two nights in police custody before being taken to court and released on free bail. The entire group, including the two lawyers, were charged under Section 37 1 a i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘disturbing the peace, security or order of the public’. They will appear in court again on 4th March 2009.

Those arrested were Nelia Hambarume, Clara Bongwe, Auxilia Tarumbwa, Gracy Mutambachirimo, Linda Moyo, Keure Chikomo, Edina Saidi and Kundai Mupfukudzwa. The two lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) were Roselyn Hanzi and Tawanda Zhuwarara.

Three of the women were beaten in police custody and all had to seek medical attention. The one woman, Auxillia Tarambwa, 35 years old and two months pregnant, was blocked by a plain-clothed policeman after she had dispersed from the demonstration and told to get into a police vehicle. She refused to get into the vehicle because she was not sure if they were police or not. When she refused, the policeman slapped her and when she got to Harare Central Police Station, the same plain-clothed officer beat her again, this time with a baton stick. She was taken to a clinic upon release and has received pain treatment for extensive deep tissue bruising. Two other woman, Linda Moyo (aged 29 years) and Grace Mutsambachirimo (aged 22 years), were beaten on the soles of their feet with a baton stick by the same officer, also for refusing to get into the vehicle.

All of these developments took place during the swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and the new unity government.

WOZA outside Parliament, Harare, 10 Febraury 2009

The trial of WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, on charges of disturbing the peace continued this morning before Magistrate Msipa following a hearing last week. Msipa was due to have handed down her ruling on whether to allow the trial to proceed or not on 27th January but had postponed her ruling to today, claiming that she had insufficient time to consult the law library.

Following the defence’s request for charges to be dismissed last week, Msipa denied the request saying that if the charges had been badly crafted the law contained ‘cures’ that could be used as the trial proceeded. Defence lawyer, Kossam Ncube, then requested a postponement to 26 February to be able to confer with his clients and prepare for trial. After hearing arguments against a postponement from the state prosecutor, Lovemore Chifamba, she requested a 15-minute adjournment to write her ruling.

Msipa returned saying that she was confused and parroted the exact argument used by Chifamba earlier that the trial should begin immediately. She hardly allowed Ncube to respond, interjecting with an emotional insistence that the trial proceed as the state was ready. She did allow the matter to be stood down to 11:15 however.

During the adjournment the defence lodged an appeal to the High Court, the basis of which being that Magistrate Msipa had refused to grant them time to consider their options. After the break, Msipa was presented with a copy of the application to the High Court. Once again the state prosecutor weighed in and insisted the Magistrate ignore the appeal saying that it was unprocedural and should have been a review, not an appeal. The Magistrate ruled however that the trial could not proceed until a ruling comes from the High Court.

Williams and Mahlangu were then remanded to 26th February 2009, and could end up being remanded until a ruling has been received from the High Court.

WOZA is concerned that events in court today are a further indication that in Zimbabwe justice is too often compromised upon the altar of political agendas. It is also more evidence that the SADC-mediated process is a farce with ZANU PF making no attempt to make concessions in the interests of moving forward. Furthermore hours of court and police time were wasted on a petty matter whilst more serious crimes go ignored or unheard. Starvation in the prisons is rife and yet no attempt is made to hear cases that could bring some relief to the dire humanitarian crisis in the prison system. In just the short time that WOZA was in court, 15 people were further remanded in custody without any attempt to hear their cases. It is therefore clear why the opposition parties insist that the office of Attorney General and ministries of Home Affairs and Justice be in the hands of impartial professionals.

WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, appeared in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court this morning on trial for two charges, one relating to an arrest in October 2008 and the other to an arrest in June 2004.

The 2008 charge is C/S 37 (1) (a) (i) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23: “Acting together with one or more other persons with him/her in any place realizing that there is a real risk or possibility of disturbing peace, security or order of the public”. The 2004 charge is under C/S 7(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act chapter 9:15 “acting in a manner which is likely to lead to a breach of the peace or to create a nuisance or obstruction”.

The State was represented by Lovemore Chifamba with a senior magistrate, Msipa, presiding.

When the proceedings finally started after several delays, the defence lawyer, Kossam Ncube, applied for the charges to be dismissed on the basis of a Supreme Court precedent (Munhumeso and others 1994 (1) – Zimbabwe Law Reports (Supreme Court) p49) that ruled that by their nature, demonstrations are public and are held in public places and therefore will cause some form of public disturbance. It cannot be called a demonstration if the activity is held in private. The ruling decreed that as peaceful demonstrations are allowed under the Constitution, those participating in peaceful demonstrations cannot be charged with disturbing the peace.

Prosecutor Chifamba tried to argue that charges against Williams and Mahlangu were correct as by demonstrating they intended to disturb the peace. Magistrate Msipa will give her ruling at 8.30am on Tuesday 27th January as to whether to proceed with the trial under the current charges or to dismiss charges.

In the most recent case, Williams and Mahlangu were arrested on 16th October 2008 at Mhlahlandlela Government Complex and were held in custody for three weeks; first at Bulawayo Central Police Station, then at Bulawayo Remand Prison before spending the remainder of the time at Mlondolozi Prison. The protest was to demand that the food situation in Zimbabwe be declared a national disaster and all Zimbabweans be able to access food aid whilst protracted political negotiations are more speedily concluded.

Their trial was due to start on 2nd December 2008, but the state, represented by Mr. Shawarira, was not ready for trial and so Magistrate Msipa postponed the trial until 22 January 2009. All bail conditions, which included reporting to police twice a week and not being allowed to travel outside a 40-kilometer radius of Bulawayo without written permission, were lifted.

Their arrest, detention and trial is in continuing violation of the 15th September 2008 Global Political Agreement between Zanu PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change parties.

Zimbabwean Human Rights Organisations

• Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
  www.zlhr.org.zw
• Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
  www.hrforumzim.com

Other Zimbabweans NGO’s

• www.kubatana.net
  An online community for Zimbabwean activists and portal website for the non-profit sector in Zimbabwe.
  www.kubatana.net

International Human Rights Organisations

• Amnesty International
  Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.
  www.amnesty.org
• Front Line Defenders
  Front Line, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, defending those who champion the Universal Declaration of Human rights.
  www.frontlinedefenders.org
• PeaceWomen
  The PeaceWomen Project monitors and works toward rapid and full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
  www.peacewomen.org

Resources for Non-Violent Intervention

• International Center on Non Violent Conflict
  The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict is an independent, nonprofit educational foundation that develops and encourages the study and use of civilian-based, nonmilitary strategies to establish and defend human rights, democracy and justice worldwide.
  www.nonviolent-conflict.org
• 198 methods of nonviolent action
  Noted scholar, Gene Sharp, has written extensively on nonviolent conflict and strategy. Practitioners of nonviolent struggle have an entire arsenal of “nonviolent weapons” at their disposal. The 198 methods are classified into three broad categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation (social, economic, and political), and nonviolent intervention. Read the 198 methods of nonviolent action.
  www.aforcemorepowerful.org/resources/nonviolent/methods.php
• Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)
  CANVAS trainers and consultants support nonviolent democratic movements through transfer of knowledge on strategies and tactics of nonviolent struggle. CANVAS Supporting Active Network in four countries advocates and promotes battles for democracy worldwide. CANVAS has published a book, Nonviolent Struggle – 50 Crucial Points: A Strategic Approach to Everyday Tactics, which is available on their web site.
  www.canvasopedia.org

News sites focusing on Zimbabwe

• Change Zimbabwe
  Aims to promote peaceful change in Zimbabwe and to facilitate commerce both at individual and company levels and at local and international levels.
  www.changezimbabwe.com
• New Zimbabwe.com
  Zimbabwe’s first and only rolling news site updated 24/7 with all the latest news, sports and commentary. It is also a platform for debate and intellectual release with vibrant live discussion forums.
  www.newzimbabwe.com
• Studio 7 – Voice of America
  Studio 7 has been providing the Zimbabwean people with objective and balanced radio news since 2003. It reaches listeners every Monday through Friday evening in Shona, Ndebele and English from 7-8:30 p.m local time.
  www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/index.cfm
• SW Radio Africa
  SW Radio Africa is the voice of the people of Zimbabwe. It broadcasts in to Zimbabwe on shortwave.
  www.swradioafrica.com
• Zimbabwe Situation
  Daily news on Zimbabwe – daily email newsletter and website updates
  www.zimbabwesituation.com
• ZW News
  Daily email newsletter and website updates on Zimbabwe
  www.zwnews.com

WOZA & MOZA members outside the Chronicle offices

1,000 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marched through central Bulawayo today to the offices of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper. As in the demonstration in Harare on Saturday, the peaceful protestors handed out Valentine cards, red roses and abbreviated copies of WOZA’s report on the state of democracy in Zimbabwe to excited passers-by. No arrests have been reported at the time of this release.

Five protests started separately and converged on the offices of the Chronicle. The peaceful protestors sang as they marched, handing out roses and Valentine cards to the citizens of Bulawayo, many of whom then proceeded to join in the demonstration, causing the numbers to grow as the group approached the Chronicle. People rushed out of shops and offices to join in the excitement and carnival atmosphere.

At the Chronicle offices, the group sat down outside the building whilst a journalist came out to interview Jenni Williams about the demonstration. It was explained to him that the demonstration was to launch the democracy report and to test media and civic freedoms under the GNU. Williams gave the journalist a copy of the report and a Valentine rose before the group dispersed without incident. No police officers were in sight at any stage of this process.

The report, entitled ‘Hearts starve as well as bodies – give us bread but give us roses too! Democratising Zimbabwe – an opportunity to shine!’ is a snapshot of community activists’ views on the state of democracy in Zimbabwe one year after the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU). It also urges Zimbabweans to participate in democratizing Zimbabwe.

Songs sung by the peaceful protestors included: “We want to expose this delay in writing our constitution, which will delay our getting our social justice“; “we don’t want the Kariba Draft” and “we need a Bill of Rights that respects us; send me around the country to consult on the constitution as WOZA respects people.”

To read a full copy of the report, click on the following link: Hearts starve as well as bodies – a WOZA perspective on the state of democracy in Zimbabwe

The seven members arrested in Bulawayo on Wednesday 17th June appeared again in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court  today. The case had been postponed from 19th October in order for the magistrate to give her ruling on the defence’s application for them to be removed off remand. Despite the state still not being ready, the magistrate refused to remove them off remand. Her reason – the state witness are waiting to testify and can’t keep coming and going to court! It does not appear the magistrate appreciated the irony inherent in her ruling.

Defence lawyer, Kossam Ncube, immediately notified the court of his intention to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the charges. The activists are charged under Section 37 1 a of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘disturbing the peace, security or order of the public’.

In another matter, 20 members in Masvingo will appear on trial in Masvingo Magistrate’s Court on 28th October 2009 for an arrest on 7th March 2007. The group had been removed off remand on 16th July 2007 by Magistrate Nyamukomba and the state ordered to proceed by ways of summons. The group had appeared in court five times in 2007 with two trials failing to take off because no witnesses were willing to come forward. They are charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

Both cases indicate the continuing repression against human rights defenders and the worsening situation in Zimbabwe.