Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

ROHR Zimbabwe News Alert 13 March 2010

A magistrate who has refused to be named for fear of further victimization has been seriously threatened and put under immense pressure by a top ZANU Pf official who wants to sway the course of justice delivery in favor of five ZANU Pf party supporters.

ROHR Zimbabwe is reliably informed that the magistrate was phoned before delivering a judgment yesterday and threatened by an indignant top wig ZANU Pf, and governor of Mashonaland central, Dinha who ordered him to oblige with an order to award bail to Wellington Chitehwe known as comrade John, Anyway Mavhangira, Jonah Nyakudya, Magaso and another 5^th accomplice.

The five were last year charged with theft and causing malicious damage to property when they vandalized the house and stole property belonging to the MDC deputy chairman for Mashonaland central, Tongai Jack during the reign of sponsored terror in last year’s bloody organized election violence of June 2008.

Against the odds, the defiant brave magistrate defied the threats and dismissed the appeal for the application. Conversely, the judgment has inconceivable angered the governor’s scheme to illicitly forge a release for criminals and in the process reward wrong doing and undermining efforts of seeing a just society that respects the rule of law.

Promotion of the culture of impunity eats up the moral fabric and smacks in the face of peace building initiatives aimed at restoring sanity in the country at a time when Zimbabwe is grappling to locate her feet from a painful legacy of violence. 

ROHR Zimbabwe will not tire to name and shame all those who are found on the wrong side of the law,  abusing their authority and power to satisfy their personal interest at whim albeit at the cost of the rights of down trodden innocent men, women and children. The culture of impunity cannot core exist with efforts to establish genuine peace and respect for human rights.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR) and Victims Action Committee (VAC), noting the prevailing perpetual upheaval poised at derailing not only the democratic transition, but also the existence of stability in the country, shall be unpacking a series of peace building initiatives at grassroots level with the chief aim of promoting tolerance and core existence among polarized communities.

Being aware of the likelihood of the country holding elections in the near future, it is concerning to note that the environment is still lacking on democratic pre- conditions that can guarantee a free and fair election in which people can freely express themselves without fear of persecution.

Through undertaking peace building initiatives, we therefore pledge to work towards transforming the behavior, attitude and mindset of the traumatized electorate from the negative perception that elections are associated with anarchy, violence, torture, loss of property, murder, harassment, intimidation, pillage and above all rule of man.

The coalition government has an uphill task in pushing the drivers of democracy to win public confidence in contrast to the existing perennial media battles characterized by hate speech, manipulation and self serving propaganda.

It is regrettable that a year after the formation of the coalition government which broke the gridlock between the warring political parties and stirred hope of a better future among Zimbabweans, the status quo is now degenerating into a widening rift of political mistrust propelled by narrow misleading political elite ideologies that are cascading down to people on the ground causing panic, fear and unrest.

We note with concern the sprouting divisions splitting the coalition government, the intransigent forces that hover over the nation casting a dark shadow ahead of the envisaged historic constitutional making and the national healing process. We further note that the deadlock between the negotiators of the Global Political Agreement is a further cause of concern threatening the spirit of unity that is pertinent to driving the country forward.

It has come to our attention, that the intractable behavior of the security forces, particularly the police, is an act of sabotage that snuffs out all the efforts of achieving a just, rational, discriminatory free society that respects the rule of law, embraces a culture of human rights and  diversity and guarantees equality before the law.

We strongly condemn the recent victimization of the labor union workers from GAPWUZ who have been forced to forsake their duties fleeing threats by the police; the outbreak of political violence in Epworth; the allegations of illicit deals and corruption surrounding the mining of diamonds in Chiadzwa.

As organizations indebted to a wide constituency of victims who bore the brunt of political violence across the country, we believe that the government, through its arm, the organ on National Healing, is dragging its feet in timely responding to the various needs of the voiceless victims of political violence who are still smarting from the scourge of immense suffering.

Understanding the untold suffering that the majority of Zimbabweans endured during the unprecedented level of organized political violence which engulfed the nation during the March-June elections of 2008, leaving a multitude of victims, we hold that such a sad chapter of our history should never be allowed to take place again. We strongly condemn any political activities that are bent on dividing the nation and opening the gates of turmoil.

Appreciating the ultimate goal of National Healing, we challenge the government to scale up efforts in implementing short term interventions which target the immediate redress of the plight of the worst affected victims on issues to do with livelihoods capacity building, psycho-social support, medical assistance, economic empowerment and bolstering security and protection from the state.

From the mandate bestowed upon us by our members, as a matter of principle we advocate for a National Healing process that is victim centered, community based and gender sensitive built on values of national truth telling, transitional justice, transparency, free society, respect for equality, freedom of expression and exclusivity. Provision of restorative and retributive justice is an integral part of a credible, fair and responsive National Healing Process.

Perpetrators who ordered gross crimes against humanity like sponsored murder, torture and rape should not only be disallowed to lead the process, but should be prosecuted as a demonstration of seriousness on the part of the government’s non tolerance of violence and impunity. However, for the healing process to be holistic it needs the full active participation of both victims and perpetrators. National mechanisms should be put in place for perpetrators to voluntarily come forward and confess their partaking and acknowledgment of wrong doing.

ROHR Zimbabwe and VAC are grassroots based victim oriented organizations working towards the empowerment and improvement of standards of living among victims of political violence through community mobilization, capacity building and active responses to human rights challenges.

Jointly the two organizations have a database of more than 50 000 victims of political violence dating back to the post independence era.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom