Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

The celebrations of the newly born branch “Thurrock & Basildon” ended at 7:30pm on the 27^th March the day when demons and evil spirits were fighting vigorously to stop the labour. The day started slowly and having people leaving the meeting before it even started was disheartening. The doors to the meeting room remain locked; “where is the caretaker?” everyone asked, keys could not be found until 3:30pm. It looked like a disaster but yielded a happy ending. Thank God the meeting went ahead.

At exactly 3:45pm, the launch kicked off in our traditional style – opening prayer from Berittar W Bare. The prayer was mainly focusing on asking for God’s mercy to help the victims of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The kids who are left without parents and wander on the streets to seek for help. “God help us to have the resources to support them that need help in Zimbabwe”, she pleaded.

After the prayer, the whole room joined in singing Ishe Komborerara Africa. Not forgetting the chanted ROHR slogans from Mr Tapa. It was a moving moment.

Mr Billy Machekano welcomed all the people who attend the meeting. “Thank you all for your patience and support to ROHR with such vigour and commitment, it was cold out there." He also thanked the President of the organisation Mr Ephraim Tapa and Mr Bellie Nedie (UK - National Chairman) for coming to the launch meeting. “Before moving forward”, he continued, “Lets all be aware that we are all here to launch a branch in Thurrock and Basildon which will make an impact to the local community and to the victims of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe”.

After his introductions he passed the time to the national Chairman Mr Nedie. He explained the ROHR logo, what it stands for and the ROHR slogan. This was an insight revelation to many. In his speech, he mentioned that ROHR is not just there to collect statistics about Zimbabwe. “ROHR has members on the battle field who fight and campaign for Human Rights to be respected in Zimbabwe,” he said. “We go to dangerous places in Zimbabwe and collect evidence of what we fight for; Human Rights in Zimbabwe.” He also stated that everyone in Zimbabwe should be free to express their right of choice of who they want to vote for without any fear of being beaten up. He spoke of the history of Zimbabwe and the 1979 elections which were won by ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwean independence was celebrated in April 1980 and everything was done freely and fairly. Mr Nedie emphasised the point that ROHR is non political and it does not represent either ZANU PF or MDC or any other political party in Zimbabwe. 

As he finished, the whole room echoed their appreciation by clapping of hands before Mr Tapa featured and iced the cake. 

Mr Tapa gave a brief history of ROHR formation, origin and its vision, he wholeheartedly welcomed all new members and stated that, ROHR is an organisation for everyone to take part and ideas from any member are welcome. “We have done our best so far and I agree that there is still room for improvement. Moving forward, we can go a step further together if we all get more involved in Zimbabwe and in our local communities”. He went on talking about unity and its strength, how we should stand together to fight the cause of consistent human rights violations in Zimbabwe irregardless of the unity Government which seems to fail to address human rights perpetrators.

After Mr Tapa’s speechwas followed by Question Time.

Q 1) Asked by Bertha Musengezi – “Since we are a new branch, how can we get involved in community support to help the local community? Are we allowed by law to be working on the community since some of our members are not allowed to work due to other circumstances?”

A) Answered by Billy Machekano – It not work, you don’t get paid and you not benefiting from it personally. It’s the community that benefit not individuals. Chelmsford Branch does it and the first people you need to approach as a branch are the local authorities. 

 Q 2) Asked by Enisa Saunyama – “As an organisation, what does ROHR do to help victims such as one that came out on BBC4 programme ‘Zimbabwe Forgotten Children’?” 

A) Answered by Mr Tapa – We are greatly involved in helping victims of Human Rights activists in Zimbabwe and we have send clothes, cash, medicines, books, etc. Everthing is on the website. 

Charlene Ndebele contributed that, it will be nice if all members of our branch would try to bring second hand clothes, cash, books, pencils and pens considering that its almost exam time in Zimbabwe. This was agreed and contributions will commence in the next general meeting.

Tobokwa Malikongwa also added that, child rights empowerment is our role as ROHR. Children should be educated at early years to know their rights. He referenced to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Q3) Asked by Loveness Chikwanje – “Human rights activism, advocacy and defending is the best way to express how one feels about human rights violations in Zimbabwe, Can one do all three or one has to be one of the three?"

A) Answered by Mr Nedie – A human rights activist is someone who ensures that people are treated fairly. A human rights defender is someone who promotes and strives for the protection and realisation of human rights and advocacy is speaking, acting and writing on behalf of the disadvantaged person human rights.

After question time, a committee was elected as follows:

Chairman                                              Tobokwa Malikongwa                 07533660621
Vice Chairman                                       Shepherd Mabhena                   07830910782
Secretary                                              Charlene Ndebele                      07857211543
Vice Secretary                                       Tapiwa Makumba                      07765636167
Organising Secretary                              Nhamo E Kamumvuri                 07962337115
Information and Publicity Secretary          Joao E M Matandirani                07886631728
Treasurer                                               Stella Tabva                              07958437202
Fundraiser                                             Loveness Chikwanje                   07556081129
Gender                                                  Clayton Tsiga                            07984171576
Committee Member                                Billy R Machekano                     07765459538

Tobokwa, the newly elected chair, gave a vote of thanks and Manyara I Munyedziwa closed with a prayer. 

After the meeting everyone rushed to the kitchen as they failed to resist the delicious and appetising smell of well cooked food Zimbabwean style.

In the kitchen was Loveness Chikwanje who was helping Charlene Ndebele with the food. Charlene worked so hard running around buying all the food stuffs and preparing the food with help from Joao Matindarani. A special thank you guys for all the hard work, keep this up.

“We need to constantly check if we are still heading north as our compass had always instructed, if we check our compass and it indicates that we are now heading south, we would have betrayed the blood and souls split during the war. The blood of the sons and daughters would have spilt in vain.’’ Dr Edison Zvobgo

The liberation struggle purchased through sacrificial blood the transition from an undemocratic system of governance to self rule. It was the culmination for the redefinition of the status quo, the setting up of new standards to affirm the universally set standards that human beings are made equal and therefore should be equal before the law regardless of political affiliation, tribe, and man’s intuition. Blood of gallant sons and daughters was spilt to redefine the status quo as the foundation for all generations to come, for them to cherish and guard jealously the hard won freedom upon which a liberated Zimbabwe was born.

Undeniably, the liberation struggle enabled the repossession of our country from the settler British occupants and transferred authority and power into the hands of Zimbabweans to be able to assume the right to choose their own representative leaders without persecution. The repossession meant that we became a sovereign nation responsible and accountable to everything within our borders, all kinds of wealth of resources and the different vibrant peace loving tribes who make up Zimbabwe.

Now three decades after attaining independence from colonial rule from the British, the answer to why the liberation struggle was fought remains shrouded in mystery and not shared by everyone as a national vision. There are those who claim monopoly and credit to the sacrifices that were made, some see it as a victory for autonomy to further personnel interest ahead of national ones,  others see victory as justification for the creation of an elite class with overriding monopoly of how the national treasure should be distributed while others see it as a national  symbol of  selfless sacrifice that purchased the freedom  of the people from oppression, discrimination, inequality, denial of fundamental human rights, social rights, economic rights, political rights and religious rights.

Regrettable.  The journey from the post independence era to where we are today is less reflective of the essence of why the liberation struggle for freedom was waged. The last decade has witnessed horrific events equating to a walk in the wilderness. It is as if our leaders have learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Consequently shaming deeds have been carried out systematically by a few malign, avaricious and self centered leaders to reverse the very gains of the struggle to make law unto themselves, to create new social strata of elite classes based on political patronage at the expense of the nation.

Man made calamities driven by insatiable desire to cling to power culminated into misrule, greed, corruption, culture of impunity, rigging of elections, violation of property rights, silencing of voices of reason, denial of the right to vote through inhuman degrading means. All these practices slowly crept into our nation without much attention, the seeds grew to become trees and in the face of growing agitation the trees established roots which run deep into the ground. It’s now a full blown rooted flourishing system that feeds on anything goes for its survival even destroying the environment and the eco-system.

The ripping effects of this evil system presided by an elite class of people more equal than others is now causing untold suffering causing a lot of pain to endure. Lives have been lost and a lot of blood spilt in the process. A highlight of the few chronicled events which represent this suffering include the Gukurahundi Massacre in which more than 20 000 people were butchered for political expediency, the operation Murambatsvina which saw more than 750 000 inhabitants losing their livelihoods and shelter, the election violence beginning from 2000 to 2008  saw innocent lives lost to violence, torture and intimidation for political expediency, the violent land grab resulted in chaos, widespread looting and triggered rampant inconceivable violation of human rights among white farmers, farm workers and innocent man, women and children.

 Human and political activist are being harassed, battered, abducted and tortured for exercising their rights, labor union members  are being brutalized for expressing their disgruntlement through demonstrations,  journalist  continue to be victimized for criticizing the powers that be.

 The 30th infamous celebration of our independence comes at a time when the country is being run by a coalition government that was brokered by negotiations to forge peace between warring political parties MDC and ZANU Pf, not a byproduct of the people’s voices as demonstrated by the March 29 vote. The encumbered coalition government is a marriage of convenience of two irreconcilable factions.

What is more perplexing about where we are as nation is that, the intransigent forces of democracy and good governance are still prophesying total ignorance, hardening themselves against the winds of change  blowing towards a better Zimbabwe. They want to squander every opportunity to invest into the future for the next generations to leave in harmony. The historic writing of a people’s constitution has been sabotaged left, right and centre yet it embodies what prompted the liberation fighters to take up arms- so that one day we could write our own constitution and not be bound by the undemocratic Lancaster house alien constitution.

There are those that are on the wrong side of history, standing in the way of progress hindering the decade long struggle for democracy, a culture of human rights and upholding people’s freedoms. Mired in the rhetoric of war clichés, militancy and old fashioned partisan propaganda oppressive forces want to reverse the hands of time having failed dismally to align to the new struggles of the 21st century world: the advancement of the universally cross cutting principle of the  inalienability of human rights across continents.

Failure of leadership renewal has precipitated the failure of a change to a new mindset to keep abreast with the advancement of developments that are shaping the world body politic. We are in a new world with the old way of thinking and in the end the old cap of mind is a stumbling block to the new Zimbabwe. It’s an unfortunate case of new wine in old bottles.

ROHR Zimbabwe and Victim Action Committee’s position on Zimbabwe turning 30

First and foremost ROHR Zimbabwe and VAC joins the rest of the nation to honor the gallant selfless heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the Zimbabweans from oppressive rule of the colonialist and helped shape the foundation upon which the cradle of a democratic liberal society was founded. We acknowledge the commitment and laborious prolonged protracted process which brought about the independence of our beloved country to affirm the rights of all.

We also continue to honor those new heroes and heroines who continue to fall in the fight for democracy and human rights to further the noble work that was chartered by our torch bearers who began the struggle for people’s rights and freedom from as far back as 1963. Understanding that the liberation struggle was a fight for human rights, we hold that our independence is a lost cause of mixed feelings if three decades down the line people are being persecuted and oppressed for political expediency and personal interest. The plight of suffering Zimbabweans as a result of manmade catastrophes is a major cause of concern.

We condemn in strongest terms all those who standing in the path of building a democratic society that is built on ideals of equality, the rule of law, respect for human rights, good governance, transparency, accountability, equality, non discrimination, fairness, respect for humanity.

We affirm that the only acceptable credible methodology for Zimbabwe to be restored to its respectable position is through the holding of a free and fair election, in which people exercise their fundamental right of choosing a leader who is accountable to them for the simple reason that they chose him/her.  The elections should be held in a free environment supervised by international observers devoid of intimidation, coercion and persecution to protect the voice of the people.

As ROHR Zimbabwe and VAC we affirm our energies towards returning Zimbabwe to the apex of the vanguard of upholding human rights in the continent. As in the words of Zimbabwe’s first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, ‘’Zimbabwe does not belong to us, but rather it has been loaned to us by the next generation. It is our duty that we make it a better place for the next generation.’’

For Peace, Justice and Freedom