Female leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) arrested

Fourteen activists from the organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), including WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magadonga Mahlangu, were arrested on 28 May and are being held under harsh prison conditions.

Jenni Williams, national coordinator of WOZA, fellow WOZA leader Magadonga Mahlangu, and 12 other activists, including one man, were captured as they marched to the Zambian Embassy. They were calling on the Chair of the Southern African Development Community to help bring an end to the violence that has been taking place in Zimbabwe since elections were held on 29 March 2008.

It is reported that some of the WOZA members were beaten by police as they were arrested. They are all being charged with ‘distributing materials likely to cause a breach of the peace,’ under Section 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. Jenni Williams has a further charge against her for ‘publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State’ under Section 31 of the same Act. Some WOZA members appeared in court on 30 May and others on 31 May. After initially being granted bail, the state prosecutor then won an appeal against granting them bail and all 14 were remanded in custody.

The thirteen women are being held at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and the male WOZA member is being held at Harare Central Remand Prison. Reports indicate that conditions in both of these prisons are deplorable and fall well below international standards.

Sufficient blankets and warm clothing have not been provided to the WOZA detainees, which is of particular concern as it is currently winter in Zimbabwe. They are being remanded in custody until 6 June when they will appear in court again.

Amnesty International understands that the WOZA members were arrested and detained purely because they were attempting to exercise their universally guaranteed rights to freedom of association and assembly.

Though WOZA members have been arrested on dozens of occasions since the formation of the organisation in 2003, the most recent arrests are part of a wider crackdown on human rights defenders, trade unionists, lawyers, journalists, election observers and opposition activists in the wake of the parliamentary and presidential elections of 29 March.

Amnesty International, 3 June 2008

News update from WOZA, 4th July 2008 : Williams and Mahlangu finally released on bail

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were finally granted bail yesterday by Magistrate Mutongi in Harare Magistrate?s Court. The entire group of 14 were further remanded to 17th July. The State has also set a trial date of 29th July.

The defence lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, had placed a fresh application for bail on changed circumstances before the magistrate. His application was based on four main points. He firstly countered Justice Hlatshawayo?s reasons for denying the two bail on 11th June. At that time, the state had argued that there were two pending cases, one dating from 2004 and the second from June 2007, against Williams and Mahlangu. Hlatshawayo also argued that it would be ?childish? to release the two on bail prior to the presidential run-off election because they would organise violent Kenyan-style demonstrations. Nkomo provided evidence that neither of the two court cases were pending in the Magistrate?s Court. In the 2004 case, the state had been instructed to proceed by way of summons and the 2007 case had been referred to the Constitutional Court. He went on to argue that the run-off election had passed and therefore the reasons for denying bail were no longer valid.

Further to these two arguments, Nkomo also reasoned that it had been 22 days since the High Court ruling and that passage of time is a valid basis for changed circumstances. He also pointed out the fact that 12 of the co-accused had already been granted bail and that under Zimbabwean law persons accused of the same crime should be treated equally.

Following Nkomo?s outline, the prosecutor, Mukapa, requested an adjournment to consider his arguments. Although the magistrate was not happy with the request, as it was coming up to teatime, she adjourned court until after tea. Following the break, the state requested a further adjournment to verify the authenticity of the court extracts regarding the supposedly pending cases. She also stated that she needed more time to prepare her response because she had only learned of the defence?s intention to apply for bail the previous day. The Magistrate dismissed this request however after strenuous objections from Nkomo, reminding the prosecutor that no notification of intent to apply for bail is required under law. Before she gave her ruling however, the Magistrate requested that the defence provide a copy of the reasons Judge Hlatshawayo denied bail. As the defence did not have such a document, Nkomo requested, and was granted, a 30-minute adjournment to source the reasons from the High Court.

At the High Court however, it was discovered that Judge Hlatshawayo had not made the required notes detailing his judgement.

Although it was during the lunch hour, the Magistrate allowed court to resume following the break. Mukapa immediately attempted to respond to the defence?s application but was stopped by the Magistrate. Mutongi stated that the state had wasted enough of the court?s time and that she had already noted that the state had no response. Nothing said after this point therefore would influence her ruling. After accepting the defence?s explanation why it was not possible to provide a written copy of the reasons for the High Court ruling, she went on to announce that she was granting Williams and Mahlangu bail and remanded the entire group of 14 to 17th July. The original amounts of $10 billion for Williams (the equivalent of US 30 cents) and $5 billion for Mahlangu were upheld. Conditions of bail included reporting to their nearest police station every Monday and Friday and not interfering with state witnesses (despite the fact that no witness list has been provided by the state and therefore no one knows who the state witnesses are).

Following the ruling, the prosecutor tried to argue that the two should also submit the title deeds for their properties as part of the bail conditions and that the state had set a trial of 29 July. The magistrate overruled all these arguments however by firmly stating that court was adjourned and leaving the courtroom.

Williams and Mahlangu finally walked out of custody after 37 days at 3.45pm after administrative complications caused a delay in getting them out.

WOZA is delighted that the state?s petty attempt to pervert justice has finally been overruled and looks forward to challenging these farcical charges at trial. WOZA would also like to thank Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights for their support and their determination to secure the release of all those arrested.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu would also like to thank everyone who lobbied for their release, sent messages of solidarity and kept them in their thoughts and prayers. Special thanks go to everyone who visited them in prison, bringing them food, reading materials and precious news of the outside world. Solidarity from friends inside the country and around the world went a long way to ensuring that their time in Chikurubi Women?s Prison was made more bearable. They are in good spirits and looking forward to continuing the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe.