Case History: Farai Maguwu

On 10 October 2011, human rights defender Mr Farai Maguwu was detained by Zimbabwean officials at Harare International Airport. While detained Maguwu was subjected to questioning regarding his trip and his organisation's human rights activities, and his luggage was searched.

After being released Maguwu received numerous anonymous phone calls which were terminated each time he attempted to answer. Farai Maguwu is the director of the Mutare Centre for Research and Development (CRD), an organisation which carries out research and advocacy in the area of human rights, particularly with respect to diamond mining, and has campaigned strongly against alleged military human rights abuses and illegal mining operations in Zimbabwe.

On 10 October 2011, at approximately 2 pm, Farai Maguwu observed an unknown man looking at him suspiciously while he was waiting to pass from the immigration queue to the arrivals hall. At the immigration desk, the officer told Farai Maguwu that she was having difficulties scanning his passport, and she signalled the man who the human rights defender had seen observing him, and who is believed to belong to the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). Although the official waved Farai Maguwu through, more suspected CIO officials began to arrive into the arrivals hall.

After collecting his luggage, which had already been unloaded from the carousel, Farai Maguwu was stopped and asked to produce his passport by three plain clothes police officers. A fourth man then arrived and asked Farai Maguwu to follow him to a room in which six men had gathered, several of whom identified themselves as officials of the Criminal Investigation Department. The security officials searched Farai Maguwu's luggage and questioned him about his trip and the activities of CRD, before releasing him. On his way from the airport to Mutare, the human rights defender began to receive anonymous calls which were terminated each time he attempted to answer. The calls continued throughout the night until the following morning.

This is not the first time Farai Maguwu has been harassed by state security agents in relation to his freedom of movement. On 10 September 2011, he was similarly harassed and had his property seized by officials when attempting to leave Harare International Airport. These actions prompted the issuance of a High Court Order requiring state authorities to “desist and stop from interfering with the Applicant's freedom of movement, association, right to property and protection of the law.” The actions of the officials at Harare International Airport on 10 October and the continued refusal to return the property confiscated on 10 September appear to be in contempt of this court order.

A Zimbabwe Magistrates' Court has eased the bail conditions of human rights defender Mr Farai Maguwu. At a second bail hearing which took place in Court 6 in Harare on 17 August, the Presiding Magistrate, Munamato Mutevedzi, renewed Farai Maguwu's bail but relaxed the conditions of his release, cancelling a travel ban to which he had been subject beyond a 40km zone around the city of Mutare, and ordering that he report to the police station only once a week rather than daily. Farai Maguwu has now been remanded on bail until 23 September 2010.

Farai Maguwu was initially arrested on 3 June 2010 following a meeting with Mr Abbey Chikane, a Kimberley Process monitor, in which they discussed evidence of alleged military abuses in the diamond-rich Marange region in Mutare West. Farai Maguwu was released on bail on 12 July 2010. The court is yet to set a date for Farai Maguwu's trial. If found guilty of the charges of “communicating and publishing falsehoods against the State with the intention to cause prejudice to the security or economic interests of the country” under Section 31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act), Farai Maguwu would face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

In addition, court orders previously issued by the High Court of Zimbabwe and the Magistrates Court have not been complied with. The orders required the submission to the court of an inventory of Farai Maguwu's possessions as well as his passport, which had been seized by the police, with a view to enabling the eventual return of the items to the human rights defender. However, although the defence team learned that this list was eventually submitted, to date none of Farai Maguwu's possessions have been returned to him, and it is unknown whether his passport has been surrendered. During the bail hearing on 17 August, the court refused to consider Farai Maguwu's lawyers' complaints about the matter, and only directed that the Prosecutor and defence team work together outside the court to solve the problem.

Farai Maguwu was denied bail for a third time on 2 July 2010 by Magistrate Donal Ndirowei. The grounds of the denial were that the State needed more time to conclude its investigation. A previous application for bail was rejected on 10 June 2010 on the basis that the police would have concluded their investigations by 22 June 2010. As outlined in a previous update, bail was rejected again on 21 June 2010.

It is believed that police are deliberately refusing to conclude their investigations in order to prevent the court from granting bail to Farai Maguwu. On 30 June the State sought a further two weeks to conclude its investigations. Farai Maguwu remains in prison hospital where he has developed stomach and abdominal pains which have resulted in diahorrea. On 30 June 2010 Farai Maguwu testified in court that he had been put in leg irons and chains which prevented him from sleeping properly or from freely using the toilet. He told the court that when he sought an explanation for this treatment from prison guards, he was told that they were following orders from above which they had been ordered to obey because his case was allegedly 'political'. Farai Maguwu has instructed his lawyers to appeal this latest rejection of bail on the grounds that no proof of any pending relevant investigations was tendered in court, that his own testimony went unchallenged, that the testimony given by Detective Inspector Dowa was contradictory in nature and that the ruling by the Court was far removed from the evidence led in Court.

Farai Maguwu was originally arrested on 3 June 2010 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, and has been charged with publishing falsehoods against the State with the intention to cause prejudice to the security or economic interests of the country: a charge which, should he be found guilty, could lead to up to 20-years imprisonment. The Judge stated that the crimes of which Farai Maguwu is charged represent "treacherous and abominable" behaviour. No mention whatsoever was made, however, of the admitted denial of medical attention and medication and the admitted illegal detention of Farai Maguwu.

Farai Maguwu's arrest came following a meeting, on 25 May 2010, with Kimberley Process monitor Mr Abbey Chikane in which he discussed evidence of alleged military abuses in the diamond-rich Marange region in Mutare West. Mr Chikane in turn informed the Zimbabwean authorities about the evidence, reportedly for fear of being arrested himself. Since his arrest, Farai Maguwu's detention has been characterised by accusations of ill-treatment including threats, and worrying procedural irregularities including his removal from remand for interrogation over the weekend of 12-13 June.

Farai Maguwu remains in detention in Zimbabwe pending a bail hearing which has been postponed until 21 June 2010. He was originally arrested on 3 June 2010 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, and has been charged with publishing falsehoods against the State with the intention to cause prejudice to the security or economic interests of the country: a charge which, should he be found guilty, could lead to up to 20-years imprisonment. Bail was denied on 10 June.

Farai Maguwu's arrest came following a meeting, on 25 May 2010, with Kimberley Process monitor Mr Abbey Chikane in which he discussed evidence of alleged military abuses in the diamond-rich Marange region in Mutare West. Mr Chikane in turn informed the Zimbabwean authorities about the evidence, reportedly for fear of being arrested himself. The following day, it is reported that a group of heavily-armed men visited Farai Maguwu's home looking for him, and police arrested his brother, Lisbern, in what some lawyers allege to have been a “hostage arrest”. Farai Mugawu subsequently handed himself over to police in Mutare on 3 June 2010 in the presence of his lawyer.

Since his arrest, serious concerns have arisen regarding the treatment of Farai Maguwu whilst in detention. On the night of 4 June 2010, Farai Maguwu's blanket was taken from him and he was forced to sleep without any cover on a cement floor, leading to the development of a fever, as well as throat and chest infections. From that point on, Farai Maguwu was consistently denied access to medication and medical attention by prison staff, despite a court order on 10 June 2010 which ordered that he be examined by a medical doctor. Most worryingly, it has been reported that subsequently, Farai Maguwu was denied access to hospital-prescribed medication, and an attempt was made to substitute it with another form of medication which had not been prescribed. The resultant deterioration in his condition was such that he was admitted to Avenues Clinic on 17 June 2010.

Farai Maguwu's detention has also been characterised by worrying procedural irregularities. Farai Maguwu was kept in detention without a Warrant for Further Detention – which is required after 48 hours, and thus became necessary on 5 June 2010 – until one was finally obtained on 7 June 2010.

Furthermore, Farai Maguwu has been illegally removed from remand on various occasions. On 6 June 2010, it is reported that an attempt was made to remove Farai Maguwu from his cell for interrogation by Detective Inspector Henry Dowa. Despite attempts by lawyers to intervene and protect the rights of Farai Maguwu, he was interrogated for an hour and moved to Harare Central Police Station.

On the weekend of 12 and 13 June 2010, Farai Maguwu was again removed from remand and transferred to Matapi police cells for interrogation. According to Farai Maguwu's lawyers, the Matapi detention facilities have been condemned as unfit for the incarceration of humans by Zimbabwe's Supreme Court, and detention therein constitutes a violation of the constitutional right to be protected from inhuman and degrading treatment.

Farai Maguwu was also threatened on various occasions, in particular when he was removed from remand prison on 12-13 June. Two individuals to whom Farai Maguwu had been handed over for interrogation without the presence of his lawyers threatened that untold harm would be done to him if he did not cooperate with the police.

He was also informed by Law and Order officers that he was damaging his chances of early release and making life more difficult for himself by listening to his lawyers. On another occasion, Farai Maguwu was visited one evening by an unknown individual who threatened to make life very difficult for him and cause him unspecified harm. Farai Maguwu was also informed that his relocation took place at the request of the KGIV, a military establishment.