Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

Amnesty International in conjunction with Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum held a two day workshop from Monday the 24^th to 25^th of January to stir debate on exploring and developing concrete strategies for campaigning against the death penalty in Zimbabwe. The meeting was attended by Ms Dupe Atoki a Commissioner with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), traditional leaders, the two legal secretaries from the two MDC factions Minister Gonese, Minister Coltart to give their party submissions with minister Mnangangwa from ZANU PF failing to turn up. Forming part of the participants were lawyers, human rights defenders and members from various civil society organizations, among them NANGO, ZLHR, ROHR Zimbabwe and ZimRights.

Resounding consensus emerged among the participants that the death penalty should be abolished to uphold the unqualified right to life as guaranteed by regional instruments which include article 4 of the ACHPR, article 5 on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990, article 5 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights 1994 and international instruments among them article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Mr Maja a lawyer and Lecture with the University of Zimbabwe pin pointed that it was pertinent for the courts to infuse human rights on their interpretation of the law to make sure that the law should not impede on the right to life. In his presentation, Mr Maja also highlighted that there were 52 inmates in Zimbabwe’s Prisons that are currently waiting on the death row with others having spent more than a decade without knowing their fate. He further bemoaned the squalid inhuman conditions that amount to undermining of human dignity, prevalent in the prison cells for the inmates on death row. Executions were last carried out in 2004.

Participants unanimously agreed to come up with strategies and tools to influence key stakeholders to support the call for the abolition of the death penalty in the new constitution and other platforms like applications to the Supreme Court.

It was noted that there is a huge need to conduct civic education on the critical mass to conscentise them on the debate and equally important to present them with other available options available to the death penalty without necessarily advocating to take life as a form of sentence.

Traditional leaders denounced death penalty as a western idea brought about by the settler colonialist regime and submitted that it was un-African to kill as that the African culture places sacred importance to the right to life.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom 

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

ROHR Zimbabwe has received a shocking report of an act of political violence from an MDC political activist who was brutally assaulted by state security agents in a failed abduction plot.

Julius Mutavira Gono (43) of ward 10, Chiredzi South constituency was heavily beaten in broad daylight, left battling for his life while his family and neighbors watched helplessly, a day before Christmas day. He was assaulted by three armed state security agents who drove at his house in Madzimure village, with a Nissan twin cab with unmarked plates. The incident is now in the hands of Chikombedzi police peace section case reference number 30/01/11 and the notorious CIO agents have been identified as Matambanadzo, Tinago and Magara all from Chikombedzi police station Chiredzi South constituency.

A medical report carried out confirms that Mutavira sustained internal back and leg injuries, a swollen red eye and he is still in need of further medical attention.

Mutavira told ROHR Zimbabwe that he was being targeted because of his political involvement with the MDC party. Matambanadzo told Mutavira that he was punishing him for the complaints he is receiving against Mutavira’s involvement in MDC affairs. Julius said he now fears for his life after Matambanadzo further threatened him that he will not live to see the next election.

The incident took place took weeks after the visit of war veteran Jabulani Sibanda to Chiredzi South, who is alleged to be on a country wide campaign to fan criminal activities of political violence against members of the MDC party.

Despite the fact that the case has been reported to the police, nothing has been done to see that justice takes its course on the perpetrators who are still roaming free.

ROHR Zimbabwe is raising serious concerns to the coalition government on the issue of prioritization of the security of ordinary people ahead of the envisaged elections against the backdrop of organized criminal activities committed with impunity during the orgy of violence in 2008 election violence. As human rights defenders we are grievously disappointed by the brutal conduct, unprofessionalism, lack of independence of the security agents and uniformed forces who are supposed to be the custodians of the enforcement of the rule of law and guardians of all citizens regardless of political affiliation.

Politicization of security forces remains a major threat to the existence of peace in the rural communities. Cognizant of the fact that security agents played a pivotal role in the widespread state sponsored gross violation of human rights in the 2008 harmonized elections, ROHR Zimbabwe challenges the coalition government to carry out reforms to ensure the independence of security forces as agreed under article XIII of the Global political Agreement signed by the three principals.

We hold that if elections are held under the presently constituted law enforcement structures widely accused of being partisan, there is a danger of a precedence of March – June 2008 political violence.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom