Zimbabwe: Human Rights Defenders Arrested on Their Way to Civil Society Workshop
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about the escalating attacks, harassment, criminalisation and violence against human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, particularly in the context of the upcoming 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit planned to take place in Harare on 17 August 2024. The most recent attack took place on 31 July 2024, when two human rights defenders were arbitrarily detained while en route to Victoria Falls for a civil society workshop, including the representative of ARTUZ Robson Chere, Front Line Defenders Africa Award Winner 2022.
On 31 July 2024, human rights defender Robson Chere, the secretary general of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) and woman human rights defender Namatai Kwekweza, the executive director of Welead Trust, were on their way to attend the 5th African Philanthropy Conference in Victoria Falls via a commercial flight, when they were apprehended and removed from the aircraft by security officers together with other two passengers, an oposition elected City Councilor, and an artist and sound engineer. The human rights defenders and witnesses managed to alert their lawyers before their phones were confiscated. They were held incommunicado for at least 8 hours and their family were not informed of their whereabouts. The human rights defenders reported being subjected to torture, violence and inhumane treatment during detention, and appeared to be in significant physical pain when staff from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights finally gained access to them.
On Friday 2 August the human rights defenders were presented to the Rotten Row Magistrates court in Harare and charged with ”disorderly conduct in a public place”, a clear example of the judicial harassment employed by Zimbabwean authorities to hinder the work of human rights defenders through trumped-up charges. A bail heairing has been scheduled for 16 August 2024, defenders will remain in custody until then. Numerous other cases of increased targeting of civil society organisations and human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities have been reported in recent months. This incident and the charges are yet another instance of human rights defenders being targeted for their legitimate work.
The African Philanthropy Conference in Victoria Falls was an opportunity for the human rights defenders to collaborate with like-minded individuals, including activists and philanthropists from across the continent, on human rights issues and challenges Zimbabwe is facing. The detentions coincide with the 44th session of the SADC Summit, where the meeting of Heads of State and Government will take place on 17 August 2024. It is imperative that the human rights defenders are immediately and unconditionally released and that crackdown on human rights defenders and other members of civic society in the Summit’s host country is addressed during the high level meeting as it directly contradicts the spirit of the SADC Treaty.
Front Line Defenders reminds the authorities of Zimbabwe their obligations under the SADC Treaty, which calls for member states to uphold the principles of human rights, democracy and rule of law. Front Line Defenders condemns the detention and criminalization of the human rights defenders as it believes they are being unfairly charged in reprisal for their defense of human rights in Zimbabwe.
