Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

ROHR North East general meeting. Saturday 21st January from 12 noon – 3.30 pm. Venue: Gateshead Council, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 1HH. 3 mins walk from the Gateshead Interchange and before Gateshead Police Station. Free parking available. For directions please contact Susan Ndlovu 07767024586, Catherine Tshezi 07428189705 or Merrymore Tapiwa Semwayo 07722060246.

ROHR general meeting. Saturday 4th February 2012 from  1 – 4 pm. The meeting is being called to elect a new UK Executive. All ROHR members and those interested in joining ROHR are welcome to attend. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel (first floor lounge), 143 Strand, London WC2R 1JA. Directions: The Strand is the same road as the Vigil. From the Vigil it’s about a 10 minute walk, in the direction away from Trafalgar Square. The Strand Continental is situated on the south side of the Strand between Somerset House and the turn off onto Waterloo Bridge. The entrance is marked by a big sign high above and a sign for its famous Indian restaurant at street level. It's next to a newsagent.  Nearest underground: Temple (District and Circle lines) and Holborn.

First Joint ZimVigil, ROHR and Zimbabwe We Can Forum. Saturday 4^th February from 6.30 – 9.30 pm. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel, 143 The Strand, WC2R 15A. For directions see above entry. Future joint forums to be held after the Vigil on the first Saturday of each month.

The year 2012 is now here and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, our Patron and leadership, I wish all our valued members, stakeholders and sympathisers a happy and productive 12 months ahead and the years to come.

For ROHR Zimbabwe, 2011 was a very difficult year that threatened to destroy the organisation but for the resilience of its leadership and indefatigable passion and commitment of its membership. The story of ROHR’s survival would not be complete without mention of our sister organisation, the Zimbabwe Vigil, which ensured ROHR was able to meet its obligations all the way through.

That said, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and all leadership, I wish to register our profound regret at the inconvenience our members, supporters and sponsors went through during this troubled period.  This was about power and control where former members sought to either gain control over the organisation or destroy it following their suspension for various constitutional breaches.

As for me personally, it was the most humbling and traumatic experience in my life as an activist. I am happy that, as 2011 closed, we managed to get the organisation re-registered with the office of the Registrar of Deeds in Harare and with it, the resolution of all ROHR Zimbabwe governance issues.

Thus we enter 2012 with confidence and focussed on the cause of human rights. I therefore want to thank you all for the patience, trust and commitment you showed during the difficult and sad episode in the history of ROHR Zimbabwe. Allow me to assure all and sundry that ROHR Zimbabwe remains focussed on and committed to the cause of human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe.

ROHR Governance Concerns
Following reports that ROHR Zimbabwe’s registered Deeds had gone missing at the Registrar’s office in Harare, I am pleased to advise that the registration has now been re-instated under Notarial Deed No MA1385/2011 with Ephraim Tapa as Founder and Board Chair, Mr Tichanzii Gandanga, Mr Ray Muzenda and Ms Brilliant Dube as Trustees. In addition to the Notarial Deed, ROHR has a constitution signed by all its trustees and which governs its operations at the membership level. This puts paid to all concerns around governance.

In the UK, ROHR is registered as a non-profit making organisation (limited by guarantee) and this means the name ROHR Zimbabwe is not available for whatever use by anyone without the approval of directors. It is therefore illegal for anyone (individual or institutional) to purport to operate under the ROHR Zimbabwe label, for there can only be one ROHR Zimbabwe from an organisation point of view.

ROHR Zimbabwe goes International
In 2010, the original Board of Trustees took a position to internationalise ROHR Zimbabwe with a view to accommodate other nationalities into our membership and widen the scope of our mandate and appeal. I am pleased to advise that that resolution has been given effect. According to our registration the organisation is, from now on, to be known as ROHR Zimbabwe International or ROHR International or simply ROHR. All other appropriate changes will be made in due course.

Head Office New Address
Due to prohibitive costs, ROHR head office has moved from 5 Normandy Drive, Alexandra Park, Harare to 13 Series Road, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.

New Membership Cards
In order to reflect the changes, a new membership card will be issued to replace those currently in circulation. This will also help us in conducting our membership audit. As you will be aware, the membership of many of us has either lapsed or become dormant. All relevant stakeholders will be advised of this update. Members are expected to keep their subscription fees up-to –date, all of which should be paid into the organisation’s bank account.

Membership Activism
Many of our members have neglected the cause of human rights because of the challenges to do with life in the UK on successful regularisation of stay. I however would like to take the opportunity to salute those who have remained active and focussed on the Zimbabwe problem. Branches that easily come to mind include Manchester, Woking, Wolverhampton, Bournemouth and revived Leicester. I now call upon all branches to resume ROHR activities in this struggle for human rights. In the next few days, I expect branches to email their proposed meeting dates (calendar of events) to Rose Benton ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for publication on the ROHR website. Please do not forget to copy those emails to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

UK Executive
When the UK executive was re-constituted, it was agreed that its mandate would include the revival of structures in the UK, bringing stability and growth to ROHR, fundraising for human rights programmes in Zimbabwe and awareness raising on the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe. These fundamentals have suffered while we have been dealing with the malicious slander by some former board members and their efforts to fraudulently takeover the organisation. This resulted in a lot of energy being directed towards rebutting allegations about irregularities in the handling of ROHR finances. These allegations were totally rejected at a verification exercise by the ROHR UK Executive which established there was NO abuse of funds whatsoever. Instead, it is an established fact that I, as founder of the organisation, have subsidised ROHR operations from its inception to this day and all for the cause of human rights. I salute those who have continued to commit their resources and time for the cause of human rights. I also salute the Zimbabwe Vigil management for their sterling efforts in keeping the project afloat.

Sadly, it was at the height of this confusion and time of heated feelings, that the UK Chairperson, Mr Anywhere Mungoyo, tendered his resignation citing personal commitments. Ms Valerie Chengaose also asked to be excused from her national fundraising responsibilities citing immigration rules. Without an effective head to captain the ship, the ROHR UK Executive has become non-functioning.  It has therefore been necessary to dissolve the ROHR UK Executive with immediate effect.

Efforts are now underway to get the Executive up and running again. To bring back a semblance of organisation and order in our operations, all ROHR branch chairs and the co-ordination team, are to report directly to me with immediate effect until a new Executive is in place.

Upcoming Meetings
To help reconstitute a new UK executive, all those who held positions in the now disbanded executive and members interested in serving at the national level are invited to a meeting on 4^th February 2012 to be held probably in London (details to be confirmed) to chart the way forward.

This meeting will be followed by a leadership forum comprising all ROHR branch executives on 3^rd March 2011 (details to be confirmed) that will aim to strengthen the UK Executive and consolidate the 2012 programme of action. That programme will include branch audits and renewal of committees, among other things.

Press Releases
In the meantime, no press releases shall be made without the sanction of the President, who remains the chief spokesperson of ROHR according to the Constitution and the Deed.

Co-ordination Team
In effort to bring more effectiveness, accountability and stability to the organisation, the co-ordinating team and their roles will be re-arranged. Members will be advised in due course.

Support for Immigration Matters
ROHR still operate a centralised system where letters of support for activist asylum seekers can only be originated from the President’s office. To maintain the integrity of the system and / or forestall any possible abuse, all letters bearing my name shall be personally signed by me. Appropriate stakeholders, including the Home Office, will be duly advised. Please note that only deserving cases (genuine and consistent activists) will be supported by ROHR.

Please feel free to contact me either by email or on my mobile as given on the official ROHR website, to further discuss or clarify any of the contents of this communique.

Wishing you all the very best.  Thank you. 

Ephraim Tapa
Founder and Board Chairperson
ROHR Zimbabwe International

Following its successful re-launch on the 3^rd December, ROHR Leicester branch marked International Human Rights day on Saturday 10^th December at the Phoenix Square with other civil and human rights groups. 

The occasion, a human rights film festival organised by Amnesty International, was attended by Leicester branch along with several other human rights organizations. We had a stall where we sold ‘Mugabe Must Go’ wrist bands as a fundraising effort. More importantly we were running a petition calling for the deployment of international observers in Zimbabwe to ensure the next elections were free and fair and a UN Peace Keeping force to protect civilians pre and post elections. We also handed out flyers with information on the situation in Zimbabwe and the humanitarian and advocacy work that ROHR Zimbabwe was doing in Zimbabwe.

We were overjoyed to be joined by our President and Board Chairman Mr. Ephraim Tapa at the event. He encouraged us to do more for our beloved country and mankind. It was a great success and a very enjoyable afternoon of networking and sharing ideas.

The following members helped out at the stall, giving out information and getting signatures for our petition; Lorraine Manenji, Enniah Dube and Sithembiso Chilufya. A big thank you to Ambrose Musiyiwa for doing a special feature for us on the Civic Leicester Network as this helped to spread the message. We also want to thank Emma Knight, Jonathan Ure and Ben Popkid for their invaluable support.

An article on 5^th December on nehandaradio.com (http://nehandaradio.com/2011/12/05/zimbabwe-vigil-should-consider-their-position/) repeated several malicious accusations against the Zimbabwe Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR). The article is a cut and paste job from discredited Nehanda Radio articles, some dating back two and a half years, when the Vigil was blamed for Tsvangirai being booed at Southwark Cathedral in London. The latest attack is in response to our diary of 3^rd December suggesting that Tsvangirai should consider his position as leader of the MDC, partly because of his lack of political acumen in having a relationship with a woman with known Zanu PF connections. The Nehanda Radio article hardly addresses the issue brought up in our diary: it is just an excuse to have another go at the Vigil and ROHR.

Because misinformation like this may hurt our supporters seeking asylum here we feel the need to yet again set the record straight.

 The Vigil has had a letter of apology from the UK Border Agency for misuse by its case workers of articles from the Nehanda Radio website as evidence that Vigil letters in support of asylum seekers are not reliable. For text of the UKBA letter check: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/323-text-of-letter-from-ukba-to-the-zimbabwe-vigil and for the background to this situation check Vigil diaries of 25^th June and 23^rd July (http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/315-home-office-a-disgrace-objective-evidence-zimbabwe-vigil-diary-25th-june-2011 and http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/324-uk-border-agency-says-sorry-to-vigil-zimbabwe-vigil-diary-23rd-july-2011).       

 Most of the latest Nehanda Radio piece was directed at ROHR and they wish to set the record straight as follows:

• ROHR is a properly constituted organization formed to fight for human rights in Zimbabwe. Members complete a form on joining and commit to paying £10 a month membership subscription (normal for political parties and civil society organisations) to help fund ROHR’s administration costs (staff salaries, office rentals, utility bills, etc) and human rights campaigns in Zimbabwe.
• ROHR does not charge for letters in support of asylum claims. It will issue letters of support only to deserving members who have shown their commitment to opposing human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. While members may from time to time be asked to contribute towards the administration cost, ROHR letters are strictly not for sale.
• Allegations of financial irregularities against ROHR President Ephraim Tapa were made by then suspended (now departed) members of the Board of Trustees (check: http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/Latest-News-from-ROHR-in-Zimbabwe/rohr-zimbabwe-public-notice.html). Mr Tapa commissioned an inquiry into ROHR financial matters by the UK National Executive. Checking of moneygram transfer vouchers to Zimbabwe, original bank statements and confirmations of receipts from ROHR head office in Harare in a long and assiduous process established that the allegations were not only false, but malicious and calculated to cause maximum damage to Mr Tapa and ROHR Zimbabwe as an organization. The inquiry noted that Mr Tapa used his personal funds for telephone bills transport costs and other expenses involved in running ROHR Chapters in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK. It was also established that Mr Tapa occasionally used his personal funds to subsidize ROHR operations in Harare. ROHR operates a transparent accounting system and its records are available for inspection by bona fide members through Head Office.
• The assertion that Mr Tapa was sacked by ROHR is laughable. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Tapa is still the President and Board Chairperson of ROHR Zimbabwe and is very much in control.
• Neither ROHR nor the Vigil initiated the Zimbabwe We Can (ZWC) movement. It was a global initiative involving a number of organisations, members of various political parties, prominent and ordinary Zimbabweans alike, and all lovers of a free, just and peaceful Zimbabwe.  Ephraim Tapa was approached by many to lead the movement and was elected President at the first meeting.  After that the Zimbabwe Vigil Management Team met and agreed to support ZWC. The ZWC continues to attract the attention of not only Zimbabweans abroad but also at home and all are welcome to come on board.