UPDATE – MATTER HEARD AT 9AM AND JUDGEMENT RESERVED!!!!!
ON 15 June 2011, Police officers were served with the copies of urgent chamber application submitted on 14th June to the High Court by WOZA. They were served by Kossam Ncube, the defence lawyer. The matter has been set down for 9am Friday 17 June 2011 before Justice Mathonsi. woza-urgent-chamber-application-14-june-2011. woza-draft-provisional-order. jl-williams-woza-affidavit . woza-cert-of-urgency
The relief sought from the court is in the form of an order compelling Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Officer Commanding CID Law and Order Section Augustine Kubvoruno Commanding CID Law and Order Section at Bulawayo and Chief Superintendent P. R Moyo, the Officer Commanding CID Law and Order Section at Bulawayo Central Police Station and the Officer In Charge CID Law and Order Section at Bulawayo Central Police Station to remove all police officers from the house and the yard outside with immediate effect and to bar the police from removing anything whatsoever from the house. WOZA are requesting the High Court restore back to the organisation full and undisturbed occupation of the house. The Suburbs house is under armed police guard.
The reaction from the police officers upon being served with court documents was more threats and intimidation. Officer Ngwenya complained directly to the Human Rights lawyer that he was mentioned in WOZA press statements and that he will now have to ‘deal personally with Williams’, this is the second time he has made such a threat upon the person of Williams. He went on to vow that even if the court orders them to leave the premises, they will continue to guard from outside the house until they can get Williams and search the house and vehicles parked in the yard.
On Friday 10th June WOZA members had gathered to finalise their petitions and power cut timesheets in Suburbs, Bulawayo. WOZA planned to hand these over to the Parliament Committee dealing with the electricity issue. Police officers so desperate to protect their ‘power company’ – ZETDC from the successful ‘anti abuse of power petition campaign’ and they pounced like hyenas threatening peaceful women. They broke the gate and forced their way in assaulting a lodger and are still occupying the house 6 days later. The excuse is that they are looking for subversive documents that oppose the government but we suspect that they have ‘planted’ evidence over these days they have been in sole control of the house.
The House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on State Enterprises and Parastatals Management is holding public hearings on ZESA, in response to the outcry over electricity supply and cost. There has been wide militarisation of state enterprises, and ZESA Holdings is no exception. In April last year it was intelligence agents masquerading as security officers who enforced the arrest of Jennifer Williams at ZESA in Harare during a peaceful protest. The same scenario prevailed on 10 May when a journalist was arrested at the Bulawayo also by Security officers. We therefore expect ZESA have prevailed upon the police to prevent WOZA from continuing their ‘anti abuse of power’ campaign and issuing the threatened ‘red card’ to ZESA.
The officers leading this oppression are Law and Order police, namely George Levison Ngwenya, Lindani Mpofu, Chikango, Nkomo, Chuchu, S. G. Ndlovu, known as MaNdlo and another know as Moyo. These officers are involved in oppression of human rights defenders and some of them are involved in the torture of members during detention in March of 14 members.
WOZA lawyer Kossam Ncube was at the scene 20minutes after the raid to attend but was threatened and chased away. lawyer-complains-law-and-order-byo
The Joint Monitoring Implementation Committee is yet to respond to WOZAs report. letterhead-to-jomic