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Zimbabwe: WOZA members and activists freed

UPDATE - 17TH FEBRUARY
Friday evening update

After spending over 72 hours in custody, 63 WOZA women, part of 242 arrested in Harare on Valentine's Day, who had braved deplorable conditions, intimidation, refusal of food and water, appeared before Magistrate Takavadiyi at 3:30pm, Friday 17 February 2006. They were granted free bail but will appear for a further remand hearing on 3rd March. One woman described their treatment by saying "we were treated worse than dogs - you do not make a dog sleep on human waste"! This morning police had to summon an ambulance for a woman who could not be revived after fainting. She has been hospitalised and was not able to appear in court.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had to make a High Court application to secure the release of the women who refused to pay admission of guilt fines and submit to "the standard hostage tactics of the police" but were demanding their right to be brought to court. In an urgent chamber application, lawyers, Irene Petras and Tafadzwa Mugabe alleged that that they were obstructed from gaining access to their clients who were being held in 'cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions' and were under extreme pressure to pay Admission of Guilt fines to purchase their freedom.

The application also referred to the illegal holding of the women by Detective Inspector Rangwani, who used "psychological pressure" and dirty tactics to force them to pay fines, including threatening to detain them until Monday 20th February if they insisted on going to court. The application stated, "These threats, in effect meant that those with the money were being extorted of their cash in exchange for their liberty as they are extreme pressure to pay or face further detention". The application goes on to mention that this behaviour "is part and parcel of the harassment of human rights defenders that has been orchestrated with impunity by the police."

The matter of those that paid the fines is still subject to challenge as those who did so paid them under protest.

The leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) salute the courage of all the 420 women, 19 babies and seven men who were arrested for demanding bread and roses for all, thereby exposing the cruel and vicious behaviour of this regime toward citizens it is supposed to protect and serve.

WOZA would also like to thank the uniformed forces who bravely offered encouragement and support to all the human right defenders whilst in detention. We call on those who overzealously defend a regime that cares little for them, including Officers Mhondoro, Martin Matira, George Levison Ngwenya and Detective Inspector Rangwani, to show compassion for those fighting for the rights of all Zimbabweans, including theirs.

WOZA declares a victory for all freedom-loving Zimbabweans. This week WOZA broke through the fear barrier; anyone watching the processions in Bulawayo and Harare will tell you of smiling and singing people who were enjoying liberating the streets. We hope this example of non-violent activism will encourage more Zimbabweans to be prepared to sacrifice their liberty in order to gain their freedom. WOZA will be marching in a street near you soon - get ready to join in the fun!


UPDATE - 16TH FEBRUARY

Thursday Evening Update Approximately 150 women remain in custody for a third night in Harare Central Police station. Police remain uncooperative with regard to taking the women to court and continue to exert pressure on them to pay admission of guilt fines. Lawyers are finalising a court application for them to be brought to court tomorrow as they are now illegally detained. One woman has been hospitalised suffering from stomach problems.

It has been problematic to obtain accurate numbers of those in custody and the following has come to light. Firstly police officers have blocked the access of lawyers to their clients. Secondly, it transpires that as women made their way to the demonstration starting point they were 'netted' by the police and council's 'Operation Valentine' and ended up in custody. Those that made it through the net to the starting point conducted the protest and were only arrested as they dispersed. Police acting on an inaccurate tip-off were at the wrong location - Causeway Post Office and had to divert to Parliament; arresting the women outside the Anglican Cathedral. It was only when the protestors got to the police station that they saw their colleagues and heard this news. As lawyers have had limited access, this news has only come to light as women have been released.

More reports confirming the assault of women by Mhondoro and other police officers have also been received. On Wednesday evening, when Williams was delivering food in the presence of a lawyer, Officer Mhondoro indicated that he had been attempting to contact Williams to dialogue and asked her to visit his office and to come alone (i.e. without a lawyer). He gave her his mobile number +263 11 513 364. This is the same man who has routinely beat WOZA women for the last year.

One of the women released today testified that on Tuesday Mhondoro told women that Williams had been arrested on Monday in Harare and was still in custody and 'had promised to stop demonstrating in Zimbabwe' so all the women should do the same - to which there was a chorus of replies that they were not demonstrating for Williams' rights but for their own rights and would continue to do so!

Williams was in fact in custody in Bulawayo and spent over an hour being 'lectured' about how she should 'dialogue' with police officers. Legal advice is being sought about the safety of Williams to attend these 'dialogue' appointments. Consultations are also being made with the leadership of WOZA as it if they should be taken as genuine attempts to dialogue.

Meanwhile WOZA is inviting activists to send text messages to Officer Mhondoro advising him to cease assaulting innocent women. Friends wishing to offer advice can also email us on wozazimbabwe@yahoo.com. Those in London or its surroundings can also show their support by attending the solidarity demo outside Zimbabwe House on the Strand on Saturday 18th at 12 noon.

Afternoon update
A disturbing report has been received from a WOZA woman who had been in custody but who had such bad stomach pains that she paid a fine to be released. She was taken to a doctor and en route gave the following details:

'When Williams and Mahlangu were seen bringing in food yesterday, they asked to be given the food but were told, 'you must know that this is a struggle and learn to starve'. Only some of the women were given food at 11pm last night. Today lunch was not allowed into the police station. The women were also told by police that they preferred to give water to prostitutes and vendors rather than WOZA women. Access to toilets is also being denied. Reports are also being received that several women were assaulted on Tuesday by a PISI officer, Mhondoro, who has beaten WOZA women in custody on several occasions in the past. Some were slapped with an open palm across the face; others were kicked in their sides by booted officers as they sat on the floor in detention. (Names of some of these women are available.) 38 women spent Tuesday night standing in one tiny cell. Those on ARV treatment were unable to take their medication because they were denied food. From 2 to 6pm yesterday, women were made to sit in the hot sun just out of sheer malice, it seems. Because of these conditions and the intimidation and pressure being applied by police officers, some women, including those pregnant and with babies, paid admission of guilt fines of $25 000 and were released. These number approximately 30. At 2 pm today police suddenly decided to raise the fine to $250 000 and lawyers are querying if this is legal. A conversation was also overhead by the woman that Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri had called to order the women to be released. A senior female officer was also said to have come to the detention room and in front of women asked the officers why the women were still in custody and demanded that they be accorded their right to be heard in a court of law or released.'

Meanwhile WOZA leaders are pressing the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to submit a court application as the 48 hours time limit has now expired that they are legally allowed to be held.

UPDATE - 15TH FEBRUARY
Evening Update

Police in Harare continue to give lawyers the run-around regarding the charges against the women in custody. The Attorney General's office is alleged to have dissuaded the state from proceeding with charges under POSA; so police have switched charges to Section 7 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) - public nuisance/disturbing the peace charges. As the government has no money to feed prisoners, WOZA has had to buy food for those arrested. The women have been denied this food all day however and at 8pm still had not been given their lunch or supper. Their strategy is to pressure the women into paying admission of guilt fines to get out of the deplorable conditions. Finally the mothers with babies were permitted to pay fines and were released, whilst the rest look to another night in detention.


WOZA NEWS UPDATE - 15th FEBRUARY 2006
BULAWAYO
Finally at about 6 pm all the babies, men and women were released from Bulawayo Central Police station. At least 80 houses were visited by police officers to verify that those being released resided there. This over-the-top intimidation was in defiance of prosecution ruling that police were to release all those in custody since 13 Feb and proceed by way of summons. This intimidatatory order came directly from one Chief Inspector Martin Matira who was obviously retaliating because he had failed to get the court to open a docket. The 179 still in custody after Williams, Mahlangu and Mpofu were released from court were made to stand in the hot sun from 11 am to 2pm waiting being marched the 3 city blocks to Tredgold Court. They were only allowed to go into the shade at 2 pm when police were preparing to drive to their homes to verify addresses.

HARARE
It is still difficult to ascertain how many women are in custody at Harare Central police station. Estimates vary from police officer to officer but estimates are between 242 to 300. They women were kept in an open courtyard last night and moved to a large hall on the third floor of the station this morning. They are overcrowded and Williams and Mahlangu witnessed three women being revived as they had fainted in the detention room foyer. As of this morning the legal team was unable to determine charges and were pressing for progress and also trying to obtain an opinion from the attorney generals office. Law and Order officers were recommending that all the women be charged under section of the Public Order Security Act (POSA). Police are trying to press the women to pay admission of guilt fines of $ 25 000 Zimbabwe dollars but WOZA is determined that they have committed no wrong. By 4 pm today the Lawyers confirm that we should expect them to stay in for second night but under POSA they cannot be help for more than 48 hours without being charged.

Further details will be given as soon as they become available.

WOZA NEWS UPDATE - 14th FEBRUARY 2006

Contrary to early estimates, 181 WOZA women and male members were arrested yesterday along with 14 babies. They were held at Bulawayo Central and due to flooded cells; the group were kept in a cage outside in the courtyard with only standing room until 10.30pm in heavy rain. Three women, Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu and Emily Mpofu, were taken aside, fingerprinted, made to give statements, despite their protestations that they wanted their lawyer present, and charged under Section 24 of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). The three women were taken to court in the late morning where the prosecutor refused to allow them to appear before court, instructing the police to release them and proceed by way of summons. The other 177 women and men, including babies, are still being held at Bulawayo Central out in the open. Lawyers are trying to secure their release.

Early reports also suggest that a WOZA march in Harare, which took place at lunchtime today, continued for several blocks before being broken up by police and arrests were made. At least seven vehicles were used to transport those arrested and a lawyer attending at the scene was handcuffed. Lawyers are in attendance.

Further details will be given as soon as they become available.

UPDATE - 13TH FEBRUARY

Lawyers were denied access to those arrested with claims that they had only just been detained and were still being processed. 15 students that handed themselves in solidarity were released one at a time however. Jenni Williams is back with the rest of the group, which includes 13 babies.

BREAKING NEWS

Over 100 WOZA women arrested in Bulawayo today

Hundreds of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members and students marched for eight blocks through central Bulawayo today to the government offices at Mhlanhlandlela, calling for 'bread and roses' - the need for daily survival and the right to a dignified life. Having completed their march, the women were beginning to disperse when riot police arrived. Initial reports suggest that over 100 women, including Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, and at least two men and a 14-month old baby have been arrested. Jenni Williams has also reportedly been separated from the others, many of whom have been left outside in the courtyard in torrential rain. Lawyers have been contacted and are en route to Bulawayo Central Police Station.

The women marched with solidarity messages from Amnesty International chapters around the world and during the procession; they distributed red roses, valentine cards, and the February edition of the newsletter, Woza Moya, which were eagerly accepted by passersby.

More details will be released when they become available. Photos also available on request.

For more information please contact
Annie Sibanda on +263 91 898 110/2.

WOZA Press Statement 10 December 2005

WOZA Women Mark International Human Rights Day with Six Street Actions - five women arrested and assaulted in custody

HUNDREDS of members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets of Harare and Bulawayo today in six separate protest marches to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

The women wore t-shirts calling on Zimbabweans to 'Stop Violence against Women' and also bearing the international symbol for this campaign - an open hand. Whilst marching, the women distributed WOZA's newsletter which included an open letter to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to stop arbitrary arrests of WOZA women.

By noon five women from the Harare protest were in custody at Harare Central Police station. They were assaulted with open palms and baton sticks whilst in detention by officers, including one called Mhondoro. Due to a combination of this assault and refusal of access to lawyers, the women decided to negotiate the payment of ZD $25,000 admission of guilt fines. They were released on this basis at 16:45 pm. In Bulawayo no arrests were recorded although five simultaneous protests had been conducted.

The placard-waving women held aloft placards and banners bearing their messages, including "the strongest man is a woman" and an Eleanor Roosevelt quote, "Women are like teabags. We don't know how strong we are until we are in hot water." In the spirit of "Tough Love", WOZA's brand of civil disobedience, the 'mothers of the nation' defied the Public Order Security Act (POSA) and conducted their protests without giving notification to the police.

In Harare, after a WOZA delegation participated in a ZimRights-organised march, they went on to gather on Fourth Street before proceeding along Nelson Mandela Avenue. The women were intercepted at Second Street by a police vehicle however and five women were promptly arrested. The five are Loise Grezia, Rosemary Mironga, Julia Chipehama, Noria Kadhari and Monica Chimbiro.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have reacted and are attempting to gain access. In Bulawayo, five community-based protests were conducted simultaneously. They were joined by male defenders and children who found the singing and evident enjoyment of the protestors irresistible. Women started their protest at Mabutweni Shopping Centre and ended at Mabutweni Police Station where the women dispersed, leaving their placards and the open letter addressed to the ZRP. In Mpopoma, the protest started at Msitheli High School and ended at Matshobana Beer Garden, passing Traffic Police on the way. As the women dispersed, a police vehicle pursued some protestors but soon gave up chase. In Tshabalala, WOZA women gathered at the shopping centre and marched towards Sizinda Beer Garden, leaving their messages with the patrons present. In Magwegwe, Pumula, Emakhandeni and Luveve, protests also started and ended without incident as did the Nkulumane contingent. As the marches proceeded, children joined in helping to distribute the Woza Moya newsletter.

On International Human Rights Day and the final day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, WOZA made the following demands to the ZRP in their open letter:
- ALL Zimbabweans respect the rights of women and girls and violence against women is stopped. NO MORE VIOLENCE!
- The police respect the rights of women human rights defenders and the women they represent. We call on the officers from all ranks to refuse to arrest WOZA women as they go about their peaceful business.
- ALL police officers read and uphold the 2001 Harare Resolution on the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) Code of Conduct for Police Officials. The specific points that should be implemented to restore their dignity as professional police officers are, in particular, Articles 1- 5. Article 1 - 'In the performance of their duties, police officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.'


Ends
10 December 2005

NOTE TO EDITORS:
For more information about WOZA and the protests
conducted today, please contact Jenni Williams or Magodonga Mahlangu on + 263 91 300 456 or + 263 91 898110/1/2/ or Ellah Hwenzira on + 263 91 377 800.

Photographs are available on request. A copy of the open letter to the ZRP is included below:


AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ZIMBABWE REPUBLIC POLICE


Joins us in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SOKWANELE, ZVAKWANA.


WOZA, the acronym of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, is an Ndebele word meaning 'Come forward'. WOZA is a registered trust formed in 2003. Our objectives are to:
- Provide women from all walks of life with a united voice to speak out on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.
- Empower female leadership that will lead community involvement in finding solutions to the current crisis.
- Encourage women to stand up for their rights and freedoms.
- Lobbying and advocacy on those issues affecting women.

We encourage women to speak out and hold their government accountable. Our mandate is to conduct peaceful protests in defiance of unjust laws that sanction our fundamental and god-given freedoms of assembly, expression and association. Through our actions, we create space to allow the general public to articulate issues they are too fearful to raise alone. WOZA has conducted over 30 protests in its three year existence. We recognize the sacrifice of over 800 women who have spent up to 48 hours in custody, some more than once. On 31 March this year, over 265 women and 20 babies spent a night in custody after conducting a prayer vigil on election night. These women, front-line human rights defenders, are willing to suffer beatings and unbearable conditions in prison cells to exercise their constitutional rights.

We have set out to prove that the power of love can conquer the love of power. 'Tough Love' is our weapon of mass mobilisation. Tough Love' is the disciplining love of a parent; we must practice it and bring dignity back to our families. Tough Love from the grassroots is the solution to the crisis of governance in Zimbabwe. Our rulers need some discipline; who better to dish it out than a mother! But what kind of mother would we be if we remained silent while our children cry from hunger? Do your children go to bed at night with full stomachs? Can you afford to send all your children to school and provide them with a promising future?

When WOZA was formed we adopted the highest risk option of demonstration when the most repressive laws were in effect. We had to find ways to speak out about our wellbeing rather that suffer in silence. We knew that police officers would support our struggle if they saw our love and determination. So when we march with love in our hearts, it helps us to bear the consequences. The consequences we suffer are arrest, assault and harassment by YOU - police officers. We know that you are our children, parents who are also trying to earn a living and feed your families.

Through our work we must break the chain of oppression. Rhodesia had an elite group of capitalists ruling over and oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality. Little seems to have changed - we now have Zimbabwe and an elite group of black capitalists ruling over and oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality. How many houses were some of you forced to destroy because of colonial housing laws? How may people did you make homeless and jobless through Operation Murambatsvina?

As the women of WOZA mark the 16 Days of Action Campaign with activities, we will be calling on Police officers to join us in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SOKWANELE, ZVAKWANA. During this time, and forevermore, WOZA demands that:

Signed by
Your mothers, sisters and grandmothers
Women Human Rights Defenders